


No yesterday

by rosabell14



Series: No yesterday, no today, no tomorrow [1]
Category: Dark (TV 2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Role Reversal, Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, Character Death, Character Development, Character Study, Childbirth, Coming of Age, Dimension Travel, Everybody is a mess, Falling In Love, Family Feels, Growing Up, Hanna Centric, Hannah Krüger is a mess, Hannah is a protagonist, Hannah loves her family, Hannah time travels instead of Mikkel, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, In which I shuffle all the characters around, Magic Tricks, Mikkel Nielsen deserves nice things, Mikkel centric, More tags might be added, Multi, Mysteries, Noah is his own warning, Role Reversal, Science Fiction, She is a good Mom, So is Mikkel, Teen Romance, This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things, This is why time traveling is a bad idea, Time Travel, What have you done Jonas?, and because Jonas needs a break of fixing everything, because I love these two, because i'm salty, being a bitch is worse than being a child murderer apparently, everybody will get a turn, growing out of toxic behavior, my son is pure, the curse of the yellow raincoat, this will be a ride, we stan Hannah in this house, you'll take this from my cold dead hands
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-06
Updated: 2020-12-30
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:34:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 28,289
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27213493
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rosabell14/pseuds/rosabell14
Summary: Something changes the loom of fate. A defect, a bug, a glitch in the matrix that changes everything.In 2019 Mikkel Nielsen encounters someone far more interesting than any of his magic tricks.In 1986 Hannah Krüger travels to the future.
Relationships: Agnes Nielsen/Doris Tiedemann, Aleksander Tiedemann | Boris Niewald/Regina Tiedemann, Bartosz Tiedemann/Silja Tiedemann, Bernd Doppler/Claudia Tiedemann, Charlotte Doppler/Peter Doppler, Charlotte Doppler/Ulrich Nielsen, Claudia Tiedemann & Hannah Kahnwald, Claudia Tiedemann & Regina Tiedemann, Doris Tiedemann/Egon Tiedemann, Elisabeth Doppler & Claudia Tiedemann, Elisabeth Doppler & Jonas Kahnwald, Elisabeth Doppler & Silja Tiedemann, Elisabeth Doppler/Noah | Hanno Tauber, Franziska Doppler/Magnus Nielsen, Hannah Kahnwald & Agnes Nielsen, Hannah Kahnwald & Jonas Kahnwald, Hannah Kahnwald & Katharina Nielsen, Hannah Kahnwald & Martha Nielsen, Hannah Kahnwald & Sebastian Krüger, Hannah Kahnwald & Silja Tiedemann, Hannah Kahnwald/Egon Tiedemann, Hannah Kahnwald/Michael Kahnwald | Mikkel Nielsen, Hannah Kahnwald/Ulrich Nielsen(Past), Hannah kahnwald & Mikkel Nielsen, Helge Doppler & Peter Doppler, Ines Kahnwald & Jonas Kahnwald, Jana Nielsen/Tronte Nielsen, Jonas Kahnwald & Claudia Tiedemann, Jonas Kahnwald & Michael Kahnwald | Mikkel Nielsen, Jonas Kahnwald/Martha Nielsen, Katharina Nielsen/Ulrich Nielsen, Michael Kahnwald | Mikkel Nielsen & Katharina Nielsen, Michael Kahnwald | Mikkel Nielsen & Ulrich Nielsen, Other Relationship Tags to Be Added, Peter Doppler/Bernadette Wöller, Tronte Nielsen/Claudia Tiedemann
Series: No yesterday, no today, no tomorrow [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1986796
Comments: 95
Kudos: 44
Collections: Kahnwald Collection





	1. We fall through the time stream (then awaken from a dream)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Bubulona](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bubulona/gifts), [bellerose33](https://archiveofourown.org/users/bellerose33/gifts).



> Chapter summery: Yellow raincoats+nightmares =protagonisthood in the dark universe.

_ 'This is the apocalypse.' _ Hannah Krüger thought cynically as birds rained down from the sky ' _ And they say that the side effects from Chernobyl are over.' _

It was an unusually cold day for September. Normally in any other time, Hannah would wake up from the sunlight streaming on her face, slowly moving and stretching her limbs, refusing to get out of bed until her papa called her that she was late for school.

But today was different. the weather had gone crazy the night before and it rained all night. Instead of a normal lazy morning, Hannah's day began with waking up from a nightmare. In her dream, she had been chasing a source of light as darkness took over everything. Every step she took, the light grew farther and farther away. Soon the light started flickering and after a few seconds, it disappeared leaving her in endless darkness. No light, no sound, everything simply ceased to exist; and worst of all was how good it felt. To finally stop struggling, for everything to end. But her comfortable silence had ended when someone called her name and she woke up with a start.

Cold sweat covered her face as she abruptly sat up on her bed and she shivered as the cold wind hit her wet face. she quickly closed the window and scrambled out of bed trying to get a hold of herself and recover from the morning fright.

“Hannah, are you okay?” Her papa called from downstairs. “You were screaming.”

“I'm fine,” she replied while wiping the sweat off her face. “Just a nightmare...” 

Washing her face drained away all her sleepiness away, but it had done nothing to ease her mind. if anything, looking at her pale face and messy hair had soured her mood even more. Sleeping with her ponytail had been a mistake. ' _ Then again, it wouldn't matter how I change it. No one would notice it. I would always stay just plain, old Hannah.' _

__ After redoing her ponytail, she walked to the kitchen and sat down on her chair, and started eating her cereals with little to no appetite. Her papa paid her no mind. apparently, the newspaper was just too interesting today. Hannah didn't know what the local newspaper could have that was so interesting. Just the typical news about the Winden power plant and maybe something about the Chernobyl disaster and lately, how nobody in the police department wasn't making any actual progress about the case of Mads Nielsen's disappearance; but she didn't need any newspaper to know that. The kids at school gossiped about it all the time and she was close enough to Ulrich to hear him complain about it all the time. 

The silent morning was a routine of theirs. There was nothing the two of them could talk about. Hannah had long since given up on trying to make small talks with papa in the mornings unless it was to inform him of plans she had with her friends (if they had invited her that is, which was rare.) Papa would be reading his newspaper or eating breakfast with her until he informed her whenever he would be there to pick her up or not. Normally it wouldn't bother her much as she was used to papa paying her much attention unless necessary, but today the silence that had made her comfortable in her dream, felt suffocating.

“I'll be going to school by bike today. ” She told him. It managed to get him to look at her.

“Are you sure? I think it's going to rain. ” He told her.

“I'll wear my raincoat.” she answered and got up.“I'm not hungry. I'm going to be late. Bye papa.” she doubted that going to school would improve her mood, but maybe seeing Ulrich would. 

_ 'Unless Katharina is shoving her tongue down his throat that is...' _

She walked toward the door and took her yellow raincoat from the hanger. 

She didn't remember when she had received the raincoat but she remembered that it was something her father had brought for her. It wasn't necessarily ugly but Katharina had told her that it made her look ridiculous. Hannah remembered the anger that was simmering inside her as she had resisted the urge to tell Katharina that her own clothes were nothing to be jealous of either, but she said nothing. It was never a good idea to say anything that would anger Katharina as it would only result in being punched in the gut or the face; and although Hannah was a member of Katharina's little group, she was no exception to being one of the victims of her typical mood swings. If being Katharina's alleged friend didn't save her from Katharina's snark and cruel remarks, then it certainly wasn't going to spare her from the usual violence. 

Besides, did it matter how they dressed? Katharina could be wearing dirty rags and Ulrich Nielsen would think she was beautiful; just like he wouldn't notice Hannah if she was wearing anything fancy or expensive. 

Normally, Hannah would try her best to look like anything Katharina deemed attractive as it would be the opinion of any guy in the school, but for once Hannah didn't care what Katharina thought of her. If anything, she had started wearing her raincoat more. The bright yellow reminding her of her own hidden rebellious side that wanted to be free of the power that Katharina held over her opinion of herself. 

After wearing her raincoat, she took her backpack that was resting near the doorway and slung it over her own shoulder. “Goodbye, papa.” She said and as she closed the door she heard his monotone reply. 

As she sat on her bike's saddle, she noticed a dead bird on the ground. Her head turned around as she heard the sound of something hitting the ground and saw another bird, presumably dead as it wasn't moving. A third bird fell on the ground, a fourth and then a fifth met the same fate. Hannah's face scrunched up in a mix of fear, concern, and disgust. 

_ 'What's going on?'  _

_ 'Someone keeps sending me signs that something would happen today. These are all omens, I just know it!' She thought as  _ she started pedaling. 

She winced as more and more birds started falling down the sky. Soon enough, the streets started looking like something out of a horror movie. The exact kind of thing you would see before the impending doom. Hannah felt pity for those poor street-sweepers that would be responsible for cleaning this mess. 

Maybe this was the apocalypse she and Ulrich had talked about. To be honest, Hannah had envisioned the apocalypse as some sort of unending darkness that followed a loud boom, instead what they got was the weak thump of birds hitting the ground. But, then again, what else was to be expected from Winden? Even the end of the world would be boring in this town. 

She winced as her head missed a bird corpse by an inch. 

_ 'Definitely the end of the world.' _

As always, riding her bike made her feel better. The wind hitting her face and the fresh cool air, albeit a bit unusual for that time of the year, had taken any daze that the nightmare had left her with away with it and improved her mood considerably. She looked to her right as she passed the bus stop; the same place where Ulrich would sometimes stop to smoke. Sometimes she would see him and his motorcycle and they would go to school together. Not an easy task as it was hard to keep up with a motorcycle, but she had never complained, it wouldn't have mattered anyway. 

Years later, Hannah would be thanking the heavens that she had gotten distracted that day and had not seen the dog that rushed toward the road. 

For the next minute in her life, however, she would be only cursing herself. 

Trying to stop herself from hitting the dog, she lost her balance and hit the asphalt. 

She cried out she felt a sharp pain in her hip, below her left knee and her hands; and for a few seconds she froze; then, she grunted and after some struggling, managed to get out from under her bike. 

_ 'Oh great.'  _ she thought after looking at her leg. She could see a bleeding wound from where was a tear on her tights. ' _ Those birds were actual omens, huh? How am I supposed to go to school now?'  _ She tried to get up and hissed after her hand touched the ground. She looked at them and saw that they too, were in a bad shape. 

“Are you alright?” A voice called and Hannah turned around saw a man carrying a suitcase and a backpack coming toward her. Hannah felt a shiver run down her spine as she saw his face. There was something familiar about him. Something she couldn't put her hands on. 

The poodle that caused Hannah to fall ran to the man and started nuzzling his jeans. 

“Did she make you fall? I'm really sorry. I should have controlled her better.” He said and bent down, offering a hand. “Here. Let me help you.”

Hannah didn't know what came over her as she grabbed the palm of his hand as fast as she could and squeezed his fingers. He helped her to her feet and she clung to his hand as if it would anchor her to life itself. 

She stopped paying attention to the pain in her body while they walked toward the bus stop and instead, put all of her attention on the man's face. Her mind analyzing his weird clothes, his face, his blue eyes, and brown hair, trying to determine where and when they had met before. They  _ had _ to have met before. If not, then why was meeting him felt like meeting an old friend she had not seen in years?

She sat down on the chair and watched the man bring her bike to the stop and then sit down next to her. “You can't walk like that.” He told her. “We need to fix that up.”

She shook her head. “I'll be late for school I need to go.” She tried to get up which turned out to be a big mistake. Her leg felt as if it was on fire. 

“Not with that leg, you're not. Just sit down or those will get infected.” He said gently. 

She sat down again. The stranger took off his backpack and opened it. She raised an eyebrow after seeing him take a first aid kit out. Well, this was convenient. 

_ 'Too convenient.' _

Her peers would have thought that she was a fool if they had seen her taking off her shoe and leg warmer and rolling her legging up in front of a total stranger. Hannah could practically  _ hear  _ Katharina's voice jeering at her in her head;  _ “You're a moron, Hannah. An absolute idiot. Just invite him to it, why don't you?”  _ Was it insane that she felt like she could trust him? That seeing him was like meeting an old friend? Was it because he looked familiar?

He opened the first aid kit and slowly brought his hand toward her, his hand momentarily stopping before it touched her leg. “May I?” 

She bit the inside of her cheeks. Was it the gentle tone or the fact that he asked her permission that caused her to nod quickly and turn her eyes down? Hannah was never the easily trusting type, especially if it was an adult.  _ 'What's with me today?'  _

she felt his fingers caress her shin slowly and apply pressure in some spots making her frown from the pain. 

“It's not broken, but it'll bruise. You shouldn't strain it too much. Now let's tend to this wound.” He said and took a bottle of hand sanitizer out of his bag. 

' _ Again, this is way too convenient. Who carries this sort of stuff around? First that Boris guy with his passport and gun and now this.' _

Then again, she wasn't really complaining about the stranger having the sense to not touch a wound with dirty hands. 

He opened a water bottle and started to rinse the scrap and clean it of any debris that might have been stuck there.

Hannah looked down when she felt a tickling sensation on her ankle and saw the little poodle nuzzling her feet and staring at her with its sparkling eyes. She smiled at the adorable ball of fluff. This dog was too cute for her to be angry at. It reminded her of the times when she had begged her parents for a dog, only to be rebuffed by her mother. 

“Flattery will get you nowhere Gretchen.” The stranger chuckled. 

She smiled. “Is it your dog?”

He shook his head. “Yes and no. I've been watching her but this girl is too independent to be owned by anyone. ” She snorted. “Case and point, her running off and appearing in the middle of the road.”

“She's really adorable.” Hannah cooed. 

“Don't let those doll eyes fool you. she's a little devil.” He smiled. “Give me your hands.” 

Hannah slowly raised her hands. The man took her palms and gently rubbed them with a wet cloth. “Sorry, Hannah!” He said when Hannah hissed in pain. Hannah's eyes widened. She never told the man her name. “How do you know my name?” She asked, trying to hide how alarmed she was. The stranger, however, didn't seem a bit agitated by her tone. To her surprise, a sad smile covered his face. 

“You don't remember me do you?” He whispered. “I suppose you wouldn't. You were really young back then.” Hannah's heart sped up at those words. So she  _ had  _ met him before. He continued. “I know your father. Sebastian and I had met a few times. I even came to your house once with my wife. That's when I saw you. You were really small. You were wearing a blue dress and your hair was in a braid.” He smiled at the memory. “I wouldn't forget your face.”

She raised an eyebrow. Hannah wasn't really the memorable type. People saw her at school all the time and she's always invisible. But somehow, this stranger had recognized her face after many years? 

_ 'Not a stranger though is he? You too did meet. That explains the familiarity. But when? We never had guests and papa wouldn't let strangers into the house. Especially if It was before mama...' _ She snapped her eyes close and willed the tears away.  _ 'Not now you crybaby'  _ A Katharina like voice snarled at her.  _ 'We have more important things to think about. I do remember having a blue dress. It had those white stripes... and I did have a thing for braids. we never had that many guests. I don't remember a man and his wife coming to our house... He is married... Why wouldn't he be? He is quite handsome.'  _ She fixated her eyes on Gretchen and prayed that she wasn't blushing. She hissed in pain as she felt the wound on her leg burn, most likely from the alcohol on the cloth the man had put on it.

“Were you one of papa's customers? We don't have any family friends.” She asked.

He looked up and smiled. “A friend you could say. we needed a place to stay the night. I'm actually visiting him tomorrow.” 

“So I'll see you again tomorrow?” She asked maybe a little too excited. She noted that for just a moment his smile wavered; he cast his eyes down at her hand and his hold became gentler if possible. was it her imagination or did he squeeze her fingers lightly? “Yes. You'll see me again tomorrow.” He replied softly the smile becoming warmer.

“Are you from out of town?” She asked. 

“No. I was born in Winden. I needed to come here for an important matter.” He replied.

Maybe it was the warm tone or the fact that he actually answered her questions that she felt the urge to let the conversation go on. “It must be really exciting out of this town.”

To her surprise, he laughed. Nothing mocking like the kids in school or dismissive like some of the adults; but something with a hint of sadness. “Trust me. This town is anything but boring. I used to think the same but now I just wish this was some boring town.”

“Why? Nothing ever happens here.” But then again, that wasn't really true, was it? Not with Mads's disappearance or that guy that she had found burying a gun and a passport in the forest.

“Really? Are you sure?” He began applying cream on her hands.“Things are different in Winden. if you pay attention, you can see that everything always changes. The people too. everyone in this town has their own story.”

“Everyone has their secrets.” She said and her eyes widened. Why did she just say that aloud? But the stranger didn't look disturbed; if anything, he looked a little amused.

“You are a smart girl Hannah.” She blushed again. “Everyone has a secret here. some have multiple secrets. Every action affects their lives and this town and this town affects them too. the sad thing is that if they knew how much they could change, maybe they wouldn't complain about their lives here.” 

“What do you mean?” She asked.

She gestured to the sky behind them. “Look at the clouds for example. It's going to rain. It always rains in Winden or is on the verge of raining; and unless you really liked it, you would hate living here but did you ever see a single person carry an umbrella with them? It doesn't matter if they have one at home. No one carries one when they go outside.” 

Hannah raised an eyebrow. Firstly because that was such a mundane answer but also because when she thought about it, she realized that he was right. Hannah never saw anyone with an umbrella when it was raining. They even had one at home but they never used it. Papa always drove her around with his van, or she went around with her bike and just wore her raincoat if it rained. 

“You're right. No one uses an umbrella. wired isn't it?” She laughed quietly.

They carried on with their conversation after that. The stranger answered all her questions and asked some of his own. about her papa, about her school. He actually seemed interested in her words. He bandaged her scrapes and walked with her until they were close to her school. “Well, that's it I guess. sorry for the trouble we caused.” He said.

Hannah gave Gretchen a pet and smiled. “It's alright. I wasn't paying attention. You didn't need to fix me up.” That got her curious. “Do you always carry a first aid kit around? Or was I just lucky?”

He chuckled. “I wouldn't call falling and injuring yourself luck. And to answer your question, I brought it for someone who needed it.” 

Hannah wanted to ask more questions but realized that she was going to be late for school. “I should go. It was nice talking to you...” She realized that she never asked his name. He apparently thought the same thing; because he raised his hand. “It was nice talking to you too Hannah. I'm Mikkel.” 

_ 'Mikkel. His name is Mikkel.' _ She smiled. today didn't seem so bad after all. 

She took his hand and shook it.

***

“Mikkel, get the hell out! Did you die in there?” Magnus shouted from outside of the bathroom, impatiently. 

“In a minute!” Mikkel snapped. 

Yet another chaotic day in the Nielsen household. After 11 years, Mikkel liked to say that he was used to the insanity that followed each morning; but today, was going extra stressful and it showed. 

Mikkel's day would have normally started with his mama waking him up. (Dragging him out of bed was more accurate.) Or Martha pouring a glass of water on his head; much to his and mama's annoyance or Magnus swatting him on the forehead. But today none of those scenarios had happened. Mikkel had been woken up by a nightmare. In his dream, he had been chasing something. He wasn't sure what. Something? Someone? All he knew was that he had to reach the end to some tunnel but it stretched beyond everything and the scariest part was how alone he had felt. He jumped out of bed, sweat covering his face. 

Trying to control his breathing, he ran toward the bathroom and locked himself in. 

He listened to the sound of water flowing down trying to concentrate. Somewhere at the back of his mind, he could hear Martha's voice chastising him for wasting water when so many children didn't have clean water; so he started to wash his face as quickly as possible.

That was when Magnus came behind the bathroom door, demanding that he got out as if he was about to wet himself. Mikkel always thought that his brother way too dramatic in the mornings. Just like when he made a show about losing a piece of clothing and would search the entire house just to stall from going to school. He would always use it as an excuse to swat Mikkel's head. 

“Mikkel! What the hell are you doing in there?” Magnus shouted. 

“Shut up!” He shouted back. He took his sweet time to dry his face just to annoy that jerk. And then got out of the bathroom. 

Only for Magnus to hit the back of his head the moment he got out. 

Typical. Fantastic even. The day was already shaping to be awful. All he needed now was a surprise test for the top of the cake.

He glared at the bathroom door and rolled his eyes. He went to his room and dressed up for school. 

“Good morning.” He said As he walked down the stairs. 

“Morning,” Mama replied from the table while putting something on Martha's plate. “You woke up early today.” 

“Nightmare...” He mumbled. Mama frowned in concern. It made him feel a little better. Not her frown. But the fact that she cared enough to know when something was wrong. That was how he could always be sure that she loved him. Mama looked like she wanted to ask about his dream when Martha started talking. “I'm on a hunger strike mom.” She said without looking up from her theater play lines. 

“Not again...” Mama groaned. “Put that book down and eat your breakfast, Martha. You aren't going to school with an empty stomach.”

Mikkel really couldn't understand his sister sometimes. how was starving herself supposed to help any kid? It wasn't as if she was sending money or food to them or anything. 

Martha wasn't really paying attention. Her eyes were glued to her book. It was a scrip about her next play which she had been stressing over. Something about a Greek hero killing a monster in a labyrinth. Mikkel wasn't really interested in Greek mythology. The stories were really weird and the characters with long names were all related to each other; which was really annoying since the number of gods and heroes were somewhere between two hundred and too many. 

Well if Martha wanted to starve herself again that was her own problem. Mikkel took the bagel off her plate and took a bite before walking toward the door. 

“Where are you going?” Mama called. 

He swallowed before answering. " _ Because unlike Magnus, I have manners.' _ “School. Papa is still jogging and I need some air.” 

“Don't walk to school alone. It's not safe these days.” Martha said. 

“Because of Erik?” He asked, stomach, churning. The news of Erik Obendorf's disappearance had become the talk of his classmates. Many people had been spreading rumors about where he could be. Magnus had dismissed it; Saying that the redhead teen had probably run away. Despite not personally knowing the boy, Mikkel still couldn't help but worry for his safety; or hope that his parents were doing well. “I'll be careful Mama.” He said before rushing out of the door, ignoring his mother's calls.

_ 'I'll apologies later.'  _

Finishing his sugary breakfast did nothing to ease the uncomfortable feeling that had settled in his stomach since waking up. Walking in the streets and finding it empty of any person but instead covered with dead birds certainly didn't help either. 

_ 'It looks like a haunted town. What was it that papa said? The apocalypse is upon us.'  _

He jumped and made a noise of surprises when something hit him in the head. When he turned around, he saw another bird on the ground. He didn't know what exactly had possessed him to bend down and pick it up but curiosity took the better of him and he started looking around to see why all the birds had lost their lives. 

Too engrossed in the soft creature in his hand, he didn't notice two hands wrap around his waist. 

“Watch out!” a voice cried and Mikkel felt himself being pulled toward a strong embrace. From the corner of his eyes, he saw a motorbike passing. It would have run him over had it not been for the stranger. 

In his shock, he forgot how to breathe. His muscles no longer felt his own and the bird fell from his hands. His blood pounded in his ears. His heart thudded in His chest.  _ 'I nearly died. I nearly died. I nearly died.' _

“Are you okay?” His savior's question snapped him out of his incoherent train of thoughts. He turned around mechanically. And his blue eyes met warm hazel ones. All thoughts ceased to exists. She... Where had he seen her before? Her dark her, her freckled face, her eyes that were staring at him with so much concern and love that it could rival his parents. Somehow, he instantly knew that she would keep him safe. He threw his arms around her shoulders. 

She returned his embrace quickly and started rubbing circles on his back. “Shhh... It's okay. It's okay. I've got you. I've got you. You are safe now. Oh, that blind asshole.” Mikkel laughed at the last part. It sounded too hysteric. Why wouldn't his heart calm down? Why couldn't he control his breathing?  _ 'I'm not having a right attack right? I'm too young for that. That would be stupid. Calm down. Calm down. Calm down!' _

“Hey... sweetheart, look at me.” She said and gently cupped his cheeks in her hands. “Tell me what's wrong.”

“I can't breath.” He chocked out. “My heart is... I'm dying... I'm...” The lady shook her head. “You're not dying, darling. It's a panic attack. It won't kill you. Do you hear me?” She said and took his hands in hers. “Nothing will happen to you as long as I'm here. Now I need you to do something for me.”

He slowly nodded which earned him a smile. ' _ Her smiles are different than mama's _ .' 

“I need you to tell me five things you can see and take deep breaths. Can you do both?” She said calmly.

He tried his best to focus on her request, even though he didn't know what it was going to do. 

_ 'In, out. In, out.' _

“Your face, Your hands, Your necklace The road, the houses. ” He said. 

“Good.” She said. “Now four things you can touch.” 

“Your hands.Your... your ring. M...my clothes ...and my tears.” 

“Good” She wiped away a teardrop from his face. “Now three things you can hear.”

_ 'In, out. Deep breaths.' _

“My voice. Your voice. Your breathing.”

“Good. Remember, deep breaths. You're doing so well. Two things you can smell.”

_ 'I'm not really doing anything...' _

“The birds.” a nice, flowery scent filled his nose. “Your perfume.”

Her smile became even brighter. “last one. One thing that you can taste.”

This one was by far the easiest. “My breakfast.” Hopefully, it was going to stay where it belonged.

“You did great. Tell me. Do you feel better?” He nodded. “Good. Do you want me to walk you to school?” Not wanting to spend the next few minutes alone, he nodded again. 

“Thank you... for saving me. And thank you for helping me afterward.” He managed a smile. “I'm Mikkel. Mikkel Nielsen.” 

The women's smile became as bright as the sun itself as she replied. “Hello, Mikkel. I'm Hannah. ”


	2. And I ran until drained leaving no choice but rest (So I fell asleep softly at the edge of a cave)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Into the woods they go. One more distressed than the other. Mikkel and his savior discuss magic. Hannah shouldn't have gone out in the rain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> rated T for swearing I guess.

“You didn't have to walk to school with me,” Mikkel told Hannah as they walked to school together. After the shock of his near-fatal accident passed, Mikkel finally had time to register what had nearly happened to him; and then realized that he could never show his gratitude to Hannah. What could he give her in return for saving his life, calming him down, and not leaving Mikkel by himself right after like anyone who cared less would have?

some might think him crazy to walk to school with a total stranger. Especially so soon after a teenager had disappeared, but he rationalized the action by telling himself that someone like Hannah who would go out of their way to save a kid and comfort them afterward couldn't be a child kidnapper or murderer. besides, even if she had saved him only to kidnap him later, comforting him afterward, made no sense. Why waste time? If Mikkel ever wanted to kidnap someone(Not that he would ever.), he wouldn't have wasted his precious time just standing there with the said person where anyone could come out and see them. Besides, there was no guarantee that Erik had been kidnapped. It had only been a few days and Papa thought that he had run away like last time.

_'Mama and Papa always say that most people are nice. If I act suspicious of everyone and everything, I would become a moody jerk like Magnus.'_

There was of course something else. No matter how much he wanted to think he had made his decision based on rationality, he knew that a part of why he accepted Hannah's offer was how emotional he had been. He was absolutely terrified of going to school alone after that. It was embarrassing to admit; even to himself. 

_'And I'm trying to convince everyone I'm all grown up.'_

“I want to. You needed someone with you after what happened.” She replied and then turned to him. “You handled it really well by the way.”

Mikkel raised an eyebrow. He wouldn't call how he handled the situation _well._ It was really like a crybaby. “But I was panicking! I nearly cried like a baby.”

“So what if you cried? I cry from time to time too. Don't feel ashamed about it. Besides, What happened to you was no small thing either. You were really good at listening to my instructions too. I would call that well.”

Mikkel smiled at that; standing a little bit straighter. It felt really good to hear that from an adult. Not everyone would have thought the same thing after seeing him have a near meltdown. “You are probably going to be late for work because of me.”

Hannah grabbed his hand and squeezed his palm. “You're more important.” Mikkel felt his cheeks heat up at her soft smile. Where had he seen it before? “Besides, there is no being late in my job.”

“Why? What do you do?” He asked. 

“I'm a magician's assistant.” She said airily.

“Really? You know an actual magician?” He asked with an excited tone. It would be amazing to meet an actual magician. Maybe then, his siblings and parents wouldn't think that his dreams of becoming a great magician like Houdini. 

“My husband is one.” Her tone became softer. She had a look on her face as she stared ahead. It was like the way his mama looked at papa.

“I never saw a magician in Winden. I never saw you either. Are you from out of town?”

She seemed amused at the question for some reason. “No. We were both born here. we came back for a family matter.”

“I want to be a magician too. I want to be more famous than Houdini.” He said. Maybe because it was really nice to talk to somebody who answered his questions and didn't act like he was a nosy kid.

She looked at him from head to toe. “Where is your distinctive style then?”

He smiled brightly at that. _'She gets it! Mama never takes it seriously.'_ “My mama would throw a fit if I wear anything inappropriate for school. She's the principal of the school so she's really touchy about how me and my siblings behave. ”

“Maybe you should save it for a special occasion.” She said. Mikkel nodded but then stopped on his track. _'what am I going to tell mama when I go back. I acted like I could go to school on my own and nearly died a few minutes later. I would have to kiss my hopes of getting my own bike and going to school on my own goodbye.'_

 _“_ What is it? Why did we stop? Did you forget something back at home?” Hannah asked.

He shook his head. “It's just that... I don't know how to tell my parents about what happened today. They would never let me walk anywhere on my own. Especially after Erik Obendorf disappeared.”

Hannah's face became grave at the mention of the boy's name but then her expression became relaxed again. “Who said you have to tell them anything?”

He looked at her with what he could only assume was a shocked expression. “Are you serious?” That was the last answer he expected from an adult. Anyone else would have told him to tell his parents what happened immediately. Heck, they would have told them themselves.

Hannah shrugged. “I mean If you think that you want to tell them what happened; be it for comfort or to get over what happened, then maybe you should. But if you think you can handle it on your own; which is the impression I got from you, then there is no need to put yourself in trouble. It's not your fault that the biker nearly hit you. He shouldn't have driven on the sidewalk in the first place.” She looked at him and smiled. “Besides, Everyone in Winden has a secret; Especially us magicians. this can be ours.”

Mikkel couldn't help but return her smile. Hannah was officially the coolest lady in Winden. 

“Would you like to see one of my magic tricks?” He asked. 

“Sure.” She smiled. She took a coin from her pocket and handed it to him. “Impress me, Houdini.” 

Mikkel smiled. He started performing all kinds of coin tricks that he remembered as they walked to school. “You're good,” Hannah said. 

“Certainly not better than your husband.” He said as he handed the coin back to her. 

“That's where he started when he was your age.” She became silent for a few moments like she was remembering something. “You'll do big things when you grow up. Trust me.” 

Mikkel's smile grew wider. “Can you do a trick?”

Hannah nodded and took a small box out of her pocket and handed it to him. 

“What do I do with this?” He asked. 

“Let me tell you something. If you promise me to not open the box till tomorrow afternoon, I promise you that it's going to be the biggest magic trick in the world. Well, you can open it, but it would be much more interesting that way.”

He frowned in confusion. “Why? How are you gonna show me the trick if you are not there?” 

“The question isn't how; it's when;” Hannah answered coyly. Mikkel smiled despite himself. “Besides, magic tricks won't Truly feel magical if you explain them. Trust me. Tomorrow's a special day. Someone is going to need your help.”

“Who?” He asked. 

“Me,” Hannah answered like it was the easiest question in the world. Before he could ask her what she ad meant they saw the walls of the Winden gesamtschule and she began speaking again “Well, I think you'd want to walk the rest of it by yourself. It must be a little embarrassing to be seen walking with me wouldn't it?” 

He nodded. ' _She really gets it._ ' “Thank you again.” Hannah gave him one last hung filling his nose with her flowery scent before walking away “Take care Mikkel.” He watched until she disappeared from view.

With a high spirit, He started walking toward the school. 

“How is my favorite Nielsen doing?” He heard and smiled as he found himself face to face with Silja Tauber. Like always she had the brightest smile in all of Winden. The kind that could make anyone feel better the moment she entered the room. The kind that would take almost everybody's attention off the faded scar on her face that could have made anybody else unpopular. 

Mikkel smiled. Of all of Martha's friends, Silja was his favorite. She was Perhaps, the only one of his siblings' friend group that didn't treat him like a baby. 

“Don't let Martha hear you say that. ” Mikkel says and pouted as she ruffled his hair. “Were you waiting for me?”

“Martha told me to call her when you arrived.” She threw him a mischievous smile; the kind they would share when they were planning a prank on his siblings together. “Heard you were feeling adventurous. You're mom's pissed by the way.”

“I think I saw an angel today, Silja. ” Mikkel said, trying to ignore the last part of her sentence. 

“Really? An angel in Winden?” She seemed oddly amused, though she didn't sound like she was making fun of him. The bell rang before she could continue. “Shit! We should go. Sorry, Mikkel. Tell me all about it later. okay?” He nodded and they both rushed to their classrooms. 

The school day passed calmly. Thankfully no teacher called him to answer any questions and by the end of the day, Mikkel had time to think about what he could do with Hannah's little box. He was tempted to open it but decided against it. After what Hannah did for him, he could listen to her little request. As he walked into the school courtyard, he decided that there was no need to tell his parents about his almost accident. ' _Hannah is right. I can handle it on my own._ ' 

Deep in thought, he didn't notice anyone approach him until he felt a sharp pain at the Back of his head. “Ouch! ” He yelled and turned back to see Magnus and Martha walking alongside him. “Magnus! ”

“What was all that about this morning?” Magnus asked. 

“I was just...” He paused. No way he was telling Magnus about his nightmare. “I just wanted to go to school alone. Nothing happened.” He turned to Martha. “Is mom angry?”

“A little.” She answered. “Dad calmed her down. Said she shouldn't worry since it's only been a few days since Erik disappeared and that you can walk to school alone. Consider yourself lucky.”

“And you didn't get into trouble. Typical.” Magnus said. 

“I don't think mama getting angry at you for smoking is the same thing with me walking to school on my own. Oh, look Silja” Mikkel said before Magnus could hit his head. Magnus's eyes widened and he quickly dropped his hand to his side and looked over to see Silja walking toward them. He and Martha snickered. It was no secret that Magnus was afraid of Silja and would never dare to be mean to Mikkel in front of her. Despite her looks, Silja was really a strong girl and could defend herself in a fight. The way she punched Bartosz Tiedemann had made her famous among her peers. It really made her awesome in Mikkel's eyes. First, because he thought that Bartosz was spoiled and arrogant. (Being the richest kid in school certainly didn't help his big ego.) and second, because it was really fun to see Magnus nearly wet himself whenever she came around. 

“You coming tonight?” Martha asked. Silja nodded. 

“Are you guys doing something?” He asked. 

“None of your...” Magnus began before hissing in pain after Silja stomped on his foot. “Don't be an asshole, Magnus. ” Silja said and smirked at Magnus's glare. “We're going to the forest tonight. You can come too if you can keep a secret.” 

“What? No, he is not!” Magnus said. 

“Sure he is. I'd rather have him than you actually. ” Silja waved him off. She and Mikkel shared a smiled before She threw an arm around his shoulder and the two of them started walking ahead of his siblings.

Apparently, they were planning to go to the caves deep in the forest to find Erik's drug stash. Silja asked him to keep it a secret from his parents. Mikkel found no problem in doing so. He was no snitch and he could keep a secret for Silja's sake; especially if it meant that he'd be able to join in his siblings' escapades for once; instead of being left behind with a baby sitter like a kid while everybody else had fun. 

Thankfully, his mama made no mention of that morning and Mikkel went ahead and finished his homework without being interrupted and practiced his magic tricks until it was time to go; Hannah's little magic box in the back of his mind the entire time.

They told Mama they were going to hang out with Silja; which wasn't really a lie. Mama didn't start questioning them much; to busy with some school paperwork. She simply reminded them to be careful and to be back before dinner.

“What's he doing here?” Bartosz asked.

“I invited him along. ” Silja said. There was a soft smile on her face which was surprisingly aimed at Bartosz. “Is there a problem?”

“Wh... No, no. It's nothing.” Bartosz said; his face as red as Mikkel's jacket. Mikkel rolled his eyes. Any idiot could see that Bartosz liked Silja. And from her conversations with Martha, It was clear that she felt the same. Mikkel couldn't understand why the two of them wouldn't just confess and be done with it. Teenagers were really stupid no matter how much they like to pretend they were smarter than him. If Mikkel ever fell for someone, he would just tell them; instead of torturing both of them(And everybody else) with all the needless pining. Not that he'd ever be interested in relationships and all those stupid teenage stuff. He had more important things to worry about.

“Well then' let's go. ” Silja said and everybody started walking to the caves. The boys (Mikkel excluded; because he wasn't a moron), howling like wolves under the moonlight.

“Hey, Silja, What do you think happened to Erik? The kids in our class say that someone kidnapped him and has him locked up in a basement.” He asked after a while. He really hoped that it really wasn't true. That would be just terrible. For Erik, for his poor parents. 

“Oh shut up. He just ran away.” Magnus scoffed.

“But it could be that he's locked up somewhere and can't get out.” Mikkel shivered at the thought of something similar happening to him. “Why would someone do that? Lock someone else up?” Silja was strangely quiet.

“It's like the witch in Hansel and Gretel. When she gets hungry, she has something to eat. ” Bartosz smirked.

“Don't joke about these things Tiedemann. Have a little sympathy.” Silja snapped.

“Sorry. ” Bartosz said quickly; not wanting to sound childish or cruel in her eyes.

“She's right. It's not right.” Martha agreed. “Even if mom and dad tell you that most people are nice, there are some people out there that are anything but nice.” She said gently. Mikkel swallowed heavily. Whoever could do that to a family was definitely horrible.

“Like your sister.” Magnus sing songed.

“You idiot.” Martha scoffed.

“There is no way to define good and evil for good. My Papa said that it's all a matter of perspective.” They all looked at her in surprise. Silja never talked about her papa. Everyone just assumed that she had never met him.

“And if Erik is no longer alive?” Mikkel asked. He didn't even know the teen but the idea sounded horrible to him and Mikkel hoped that he was alright. “If he's lying dead somewhere and no one finds him? That would be the worst.” Mikkel wouldn't wish that on anyone. No one deserved to be abandoned like that. “Even if you're dead, you want to be found.”

“No one is dead, and no one won't be found, okay? ” Martha snapped, uncomfortably. “Can we please change the topic now?” 

“You're a kind boy Mikkel. ” Silja said gently. “No one in my class looks at the situation with the amount of consideration that you do. You're right. Everyone want's to be found.”

The jovial mood had died and was dragged down to the unknown. Silent ruled over them until they reached the caves. Mikkel had never been there. Although he had heard some older kids dare each other to go there. There was some junk lying around the moth of the cave; which itself, was darker than the sky above them.

“Over there. In the armchair.” Bartosz said and leaned over it.

“And?” Magnus said after about ten seconds. 

“Fuck dude!” Bartosz said. “It was here!”

“Looking for this?” A voice rang out. They all turned around where Elizabeth Doppler's redhead sister was standing, with the bag of drugs.

“Franziska?” Silja called her friend's name.

“What's she doing here?” Martha asked in annoyance.

“That's mine. ” Bartosz said as he walked toward the girl. Mikkel didn't need to be a seer to see the fight that was about to come. He didn't really care either his attention was on the weird noise from the cave. It was faint. You could easily miss it, but Mikkel somehow heard the whisper from the mouth of the cave which everybody else was ignoring. He wondered if it was the wind or just his imagination. 

“Stop it!” Silja shouted as Bartosz and Franziska started getting physical. “This isn't kindergarten you two! Bartosz, you don't own the stash because you want to. Fran, why do you even want... ” She got caught off when a loud booming noise erupted from the cave. 

“What's that?” Magnus wondered. another noise came. but this time, it was from the depths of the forest. ' _Someone else is out here._ ' He realized in fear. Martha confirmed his suspicion. He looked at Silja, who was standing absolutely frozen, her eyes glued to the entrance of the cave. He could hear Magnus cursing under his breath, but he paid him no mind. “Silja?” Mikkel whispered and squeezed her hand. Silja didn't move, which added to his worries. She never did that. could she hear the strange calling of the cave as well? Another round of loud noise. It was truly mortifying. like the sound of some sort of creature being tortured. Their flashlights started flickering. He was aware of the others running away, but he couldn't move a muscle. “Mikkel...” Silja stated calmly. “Don't be afraid, okay?”

“Silja...It...It's” He couldn't finish the sentence, either out of fear or the fact that he had no idea what was happening in the cave.

“Nothing that would hurt you.” She finished sternly. “Now let's go.” She took his hand and they started running. He didn't know whether he was hallucinating or not, but out of the corner of his eyes, he could see someone staring at them as they ran. 

At some point, he tripped and fell on the ground. When he turned around Silja wasn't there. He called her name only to fall on the ground as his eyes laid upon a sinister figure drenched in a black oily substance. What made it scarier was the fact that beneath the disgusting black liquid, Mikkel could make out his own figure.

“Come on!” Silja called out. When he blinked, the figure was gone. He took her hand and kept on running. By the time they got out of the forest, it had started raining.

Everybody kept talking within themselves, while he and Silja huddled together. Finally, Bartosz asked Silja whether she was fine or not. “I'm alright.” She whispers. 

“Are you alright?” Martha asks him. 

“He's fine. As fine as anyone can be when their family runs off without checking on them.” Silja said, dryly. Her voice, colder than the chilling air around them and somehow loud and clear despite the pouring rain.

“Shit!” Magnus said in disbelief.

“We're sorry. ” Martha said quietly and hugged him. Mikkel only stared dumbfounded. He wasn't even thinking about that at the moment. Perhaps he might have become offended had his mind not been back at the caves. It was nice of Silja to be upset on his behalf and a show of Martha's sisterly love was always welcomed. He hugged Silja before walking home where mama awaited them with towels and cups of hot cocoa.

He fell asleep with the cave and the scary figure in his mind.

***

Hannah didn't remember the last time she had purposefully avoided contact with Katharina or Ulrich. Normally, it was the other way around with the two of them ditching her to go make out somewhere. But today, even though she had wanted to see him before, she decided to rush to her class as fast as possible. She was pretty sure it was meeting with Mikkel that had spurned such unnatural action out of her. Their encounter had left her in a good mood and she really didn't want to ruin it. She didn't feel the need to tell Katharina or any of her other friends about it either. It felt like a little secret that only she had the privilege of knowing. She couldn't wait for tomorrow. Maybe she could even ask papa about him later today too.

She rushed out of school. Only stopping for a moment to share a friendly nod and a smile with Jonas Kahnwald, who was chatting with Peter Doppler. Jonas was not in her or Ulrich's friend group. He preferred Mads and Peter's company. He took Mads's disappearance almost as hard as Ulrich. They always chatted in the hospital where his adoptive mother, nurse Ines worked and Papa always made sure to give him a ride back home. He had always been kind to her. 

Storm clouds had gathered in the sky. It was going to rain just like Mikkel had predicted. She rushed back home. Papa hadn't arrived yet which was typical. She spent her time doing homework and cooking lunch. It was one of the things that she really enjoyed as it could take her mind off almost anything.

Suddenly, the phone rang.

' _Maybe it's papa. He is probably going to be late tonight._ ' She thought as she picked the phone up. But it wasn't her father. 

It was Katharina.

“Where are you?” Katharina demanded. Hannah raised an eyebrow. Why was she calling now? “You know what? It doesn't matter. Come to the lake now.”

“What? Katharina, it's raining li...” But she got cut off. 

“Do I sound like I care? I said come to the lake now I'll meet you there.” She hung up.

Hannah put the phone down, anxiety rising. It was never a wise move to leave Katharina hanging. So she left a note telling papa that she would be hanging with Katharina and to not worry; wore her raincoat. took her bike and rode off.

When she arrived, Katharina and Ulrich were already waiting for her. Katharina marched toward her. Her face twisted in fury.

“I'm here. Wha...” She never got to finish that sentence as Katharina's palm connected to her cheek. The slap sent all her self control flying back into the depth of her head. She held her cheek as a thin trickle of blood ran down her face. She stood there absolutely shocked maybe because of the pain or the shock of Katharina hitting her. “You lying bitch.” Katharina hissed as she grabbed Hannah by the collar and hit her in the lower abdomen with her knee. Hannah whimpered and crumbled to the ground. Katharina knelt next to her and started punching her repeatedly. “How could you? I expected it from that freak, Tiedemann, but you?” She pulled Hannah's hair as if she was trying to rip them out from the roots. “HOW COULD YOU!”

Hannah realized in shock that Katharina must have figured it out. That Hannah was the one who falsely accused Ulrich. “Katharina...I...I...”

“I, I, I, WHAT?” Katharina roared. “You didn't betray me and Ulrich? You didn't throw Ulrich into prison for shits and giggles? You didn't lie to everyone, knowing what my mother would do to me? After I told you. I TOLD YOU! I TRUSTED YOU, YOU PIECE OF SHIT! YOU WHAT?” She punched her in the face making her yelp in pain. 

Hannah couldn't control her own limbs, but that didn't mean that she couldn't feel everything. each punch or scratch, she felt like she could sense each cell and blood vessel bruising or bursting, each nerve ending blasting out electric shocks and chemical responses. She could hear and feel her heart beating in her ears.

Through her tunneled vision, she could see Katharina, and to her surprise, the girl had tears running down her face. Why was she crying when Hannah was the one who had lost it all. When it was Hannah who laid there, frozen, being beaten to a pulp by her own childhood best friend? She couldn't even do anything. It was as if her soul had left her and was dragged down to the abyss of that morning's nightmare. What _could_ she do? Apologize? Katharina would never forgive her. Not about this. Hannah had lost Katharina for good.

“What were you trying to accomplish, huh? Did you think you could separate us? Did you think you could have him to yourself, you creepy freak? Did you think that I didn't notice you staring at us with your bug eyes? like a freaking parasite. You always want the things that are mine. You are nothing without me, do you hear?” She hissed as she held Hannah's chin so tight like she was trying to break her jaw. 

“You're so pathetic. Do you hear me? You're fucking pathetic. It's no wonder why no one wants to be around you. Begging for attention and love even your mother realized what a freak you are. Why would Ulrich want you? Why would ANYONE want you?”

Hannah started sobbing. What else could she do? It wasn't like Katharina was lying. Hannah had dug her own grave and now Katharina was going to bury her in it.

“Katharina, stop. She's not worth it.” Ulrich said and that was it. Hannah broke down. With a scream, she kicked Katharina in the gut. Using their distraction, she scrambled up to her feet and ran toward the forest. 

Rain poured down on her aching face. Sobs wracked her body as she ran, each step sending a jolt of pain through her muscles. It felt like her veins were melting inside of her and her heart was going to burst out of her chest. Seconds felt like years. She could hear Katharina and Ulrich's footsteps and the string of curses falling from the blonde's mouth. 

' _Why are you running? You should just let her clobber you to death. It would certainly be better than the new reality that you are living in. Ulrich won't ever look at you and Katharina would make your life a living hell.'_

She tripped and rolled down. Somewhere in her mind, she cour hear Mikkel telling her that she shouldn't strain her leg. God knew how much she wanted to go back to the bus stop as if he was waiting for her there. Despite her situation, she felt like laughing at her own foolishness. 

' _He's not going to save you now. no one is going to save you this time. You don't deserve it. All the things that Katharina said were right._ '

The thought had only formed in her mind when she heard a noise behind her. To her disappointment, it wasn't Mikkel and to her relief, it wasn't Katharina or Ulrich either. It was a woman whose dark her fell like a waterfall down her shoulders and her hazel eyes stared into Hannah's with the depth of the Winden caves. The very same cave that Hannah was approaching. 

“Come with me.” she took her hand and desperate for safety, Hannah ran alongside her to the cave. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry that most of Mikkel's POV is a recap of S01 EP01 but I really wanted to delve into his thought process that day and also show how things could be different with Silja around.  
> speaking of whom. Silja is actually terrifying and you cannot convince me that the boys at school wouldn't be terrified of her. She wouldn't hesitate to kick a bitch. Canon Silja came from Hannah's womb and was raised by her and Elizabeth. The girl's a queen.  
> Was what happened between Katharina and Hannah well deserved. I would leave that for you to decide. I think Katharina's anger was justifed as Hannah's lie had gotten her beaten up by her mother. Ulrich into prison and could have had their reputation ruined.  
> Katharina is extra angry because while she is never shown to be kind to Hannah as a teenager I think that she really did consider her a friend, therefore Hannah's act is a batrayal. I think due to Helen's abuse, Katharina really didn't know how to healthily channel her emotions or negative feelings which would result in bursts of anger. also, her mother treats her like shit and at some point those actions are normalized in our brains in order for us to survive so we treat anyone with a short temper and the same snark and less extreme hateful words of our abusers thinking that this is normal behavior. perhaps this is why Katharina acts the way she does around Hannah not realizing that her words hurt her friend.  
> It's easy for me to understand. As an abused child who had a katharina faze in my life(Minus the bullying.)
> 
> No, what I can't understand is the way she jumps into conclusion. In ep6 Ulrich makes it as if Hannah accused Regina of the lie like she literally followed her into Egon's office or something. in ep9 something equally ridiculous happens. we learn that Hannah only suggested that it COULD be Regina. maybe it's Tiedemann. her grandfather is the police officer. which is bullshit. It makes no sense. the mental leaps one has to make to think that it was her is stupid. sure, Regina had the motive, but so did anyone whom those two antagonized. Egon would have to believe anyone who made that statement.  
> Something similar is happening here. Katharina knows that Regina DIDN'T accuse Ulrich and knows that Hannah has a motivation to tear them apart but unlike the audience she has no evidence to claim that it WAS Hannah. more on that on Katharina's pov. which yes we will have them.


	3. I swear it is true The past isn't dead (It's alive, it is happening In the back of my head)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's a Kahnwald chapter. Ines is shady and Jonas has regrets. But what's new?

“Wake up sleepyhead! It's time for breakfast!” Ines Kahnwald called from the kitchen, trying her best to make her voice as energetic as every morning. Normally she would be moving to the rhythm of the music that was coming out of the old radio, making Jonas smile, every time he walked down the stairs. Today, however, she could barely keep herself from fidgeting, while glancing at the clock every few seconds.

“The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid?” She whispered as she looked at the clock; her anxiety rising by every second. Why wasn't Jonas coming down? “Jonas! You'll be late.”

Finally, Jonas came down the stairs and Ines let herself exhale in relief. The sight of her son always enough to calm her down. “Sorry...” The light of her world muttered as he sat down. “Good morning mama Ines.”

Ines's smile grew. God knew she could never have enough of the world mama slipping out of his mouth. It would have been even better if the fact that he wasn't really hers hanging in between them like a noose that would threaten to choke her sometimes. “Nightmares?” She asked with concern. Jonas nodded solemnly. “You know, you could stay home today. I will ask Donata to cover my morning shift. She owes me really and... we could... we could spend time together...”

“No, I'm fine. You don't need to skip work.” He smiled, but knowing him, he couldn't write off the possibility that it was only for her sake. She nodded hoping he couldn't read the disappointment on her face. 

They ate their breakfast silently. Jonas kept sending her a few concerned glances when he thought she wasn't looking. She couldn't blame him as no matter how much she tried, she couldn't stop her nervousness from showing on her face. ' _Not today at least._ ' 

“Jonas dear, could you do something for me?” She said trying to make her voice sound normal. Her question got him to look up. “There is this old family watch, it belonged to my father and a few days ago I noticed It wasn't working as it should have. So I gave it to The old clockmaker Tannhaus. I believe I took you to his shop before.” He nodded. “Could you do me a favor and get it back for me.”

“Of course mama Ines. I'll go there after school.” Her baby answered, always eager to help. She got up and pressed a kiss to his forehead. she could practically _hear_ his smile. 

She watched him ride his bike from the window, like every morning. he waved at her and she waved back, managing a smile to the best of her ability, and watched him leave for school.

She nearly collapsed on the chair. her eyes glanced at the old clock for perhaps, the hundredth time this morning. ' _Still, a few hours left. dear god. let it be a lie. The poor man won't be able to take it._ ' 

The last time she had been this nervous was years ago when she was laying down on a bed in the same hospital she now worked as a nurse. Waiting impatiently to hold her newborn baby. only she never got to do the same. “Don't think about him. Don't think about Michael.” She whispered, her heartbreaking by the simple mention of the name of the child she had carried within herself for nine months, only to lose him before she could spend any time with him. How she only got to see his blue eyes once before passing out from exhaustion. By the time she had woken up, he was already gone.

“Don't do this to yourself. He is in the past. You have Jonas now.” Her Jonas, who had come to her life by a miracle. her baby who also had blue eyes. “Don't do this to him either. The past is the past and the now is.”

Only now it seemed that the past was about to repeat itself. Her mantra would be proven false as the past would turn someone's “now” into dust. She would have to wait a few hours to see whether if another parent would have to go through the same pain she had once gone through.

“Maybe I should go to church after work.” She whispered to herself as she began cleaning the table. “Only I think that no priest will be able to explain the reason behind god's decision to Sebastian. They weren't able to convince me all those years ago...” 

Working in the hospital normally took her mind of everything else as she tended to put every other matter aside for the sake of helping her patients to the best of her abilities but today, everything, from the clacking of shoes to the smell of alcohol and the body odor of the patients (which she could swear that she had gotten used to by now), to the sound of crying children and infants and the moans of people in pain, aggravated her. She had tried walked down the halls of the hospitals, doing simply everything to keep herself busy, lest she looked at that damned clock.

Time simply refused to pass and yet she had never wished it to stop as much as today. “Donata...” Said colleague and friend of hers hummed in response. “Is Sebastian bringing the new uniforms today?”

“I think so. He'll be here an hour later.” She responded. 

It took all her self control not to groan. “God give me patience.” She mumbled and refused to look at Donata, sure that she was looking at Ines like she had gone mad.

When Sebastian, finally, _finally_ came to the hospital, she rushed outside. Sebastian greeted her politely and she responded in kind, wondering if he knew what he would lose today.

“How is Hannah?” She asked. Sebastian's head turned toward her and he eyed her curiously, perhaps wondering why she asked about his daughter despite Ines never being close to her even though she was somewhat friends with her son. “She's fine. A little stressed today but that's teenagers for you. How's Jonas?”

“Good. He's good.” She answered simply, and watched Sebastian work. ' _Did you say goodbye to her? Did you hug her today before coming here, Sebastian? God knows what I would give to be able to hold my Michael once more. Jonas told me once that the two of you don't seem to be close. I don't know whether this would make it easier for you or would it make you more guilty. First Nan, now Hannah._ '

a part of her wanted to shout and tell Sebastian to leave. To go home before it was too late. ' _But that can't happen. There is a reason behind everything. God has chosen this fate for that girl just like he had chosen to take my Michael from me. God doesn't err_.'

Though, a part of her knew that she wanted to believe this for selfish reasons.

After all, her getting Jonas meant that Sebastian would lose his own daughter.

She could never figure out the reason God had taken her child from her, just like she couldn't figure out why Sebastian would have to lose his. But unlike last time, she chose not to question it.

' _God, keep her safe._ ' She thought as she watched Sebastian leave. She wondered if she would ever be able to forgive herself for not warning Sebastian of his daughter's fate. “God doesn't err. God doesn't err.” She mumbled.

Maybe she still could ask Donata to cover for her. Because honestly? Ines wasn't sure if she could look anyone else in the eye today.

***

Jonas was pretty sure something was wrong with Ines, but he couldn't put his finger on what. His adoptive mother wasn't really good at keeping secrets from him as much as she thought. she had been staring into this wooden box of hers last night-the one thing he was absolutely forbidden to touch in the house- tears streaming down her eyes. He hadn't said anything knowing she would make excuses and not say anything. He assumed at first that it was something about her son Michael, the one who had died a mere hour after being born, but something in his head whispered that it was about something else.

His eyes scanned the school hall looking for Peter only for his eyes to land on Ulrich Nielsen. He frowned. There was a part of him that wanted to go ahead and ask about Mads, but Ulrich was a ticking bomb and Jonas felt no desire to confront him or Katharina Albers. 

He passes him and thankfully, Ulrich didn't even look at him. 

“Hello, Jonas. ” Peter called and Jonas exhaled in relief. Peter clapped him on the back and smiled. Peter doppler was a soft-spoken, normally quiet but rather bright kid who was Jonas's friend since the start of secondary school. He was the son of Helge, a rather peculiar man who worked in the Winden power plant, and the grandson of Bernd the former director of the plant who had been replaced with Claudia Tiedemann whose daughter was another friend of Jonas. Speaking of whom...

“Has Regina arrived yet?” Jonas asked. 

Peter shook his head. “probably coming to school a little bit late to not get face to face with... you know.” Jonas frowned. He cast a look at Ulrich Nielsen who was kissing Katharina Albers. He rolled his eyes and looked away. Katharina Albers was a bully and Ulrich Nielsen fancied himself a rebel and the two of them were really popular in the school. Jonas didn't see the appeal really. How many times had he and Mads comforted a crying Regina after cruel remarks and bullying from Katharina? How many times had she made remarks about Peter or his father? Sure Helge Doppler was not the brightest man in Winden and he was a bit of a recluse but Jonas thought that Peter's father had a good heart. And that was what really counted. (Jonas still had the pinecone figure the man had given to him as a gift when he had been a child). How many times did Jonas himself get into fights with the girl after trying to defend his friends? 

Too many times to count. 

And Ulrich... He was less cruel than his girlfriend, sure but Jonas was never a fan of his overconfident, above rules attitude. The only reason the two of them were civil was the friendship Jonas had with his younger brother Mads. The boy was, soft-spoken like Peter, bright and friendly and surprisingly mature for his young age and while being close to his brother, never truly fit in Ulrich's friend group. Either because of his younger age or the fact that he absolutely _despised_ Katherina's bullying of Regina. So trying to stay away from the girl he drifted away from them and that was how he befriended Jonas. (Ines had once made a joke about Jonas collecting lonely strays.)

But.. He had disappeared. The little kid that never harmed a fly and always gave a toothy smile when Jonas gave him a Raider bar was had disappeared into thin air after one night of walking Regina home, and a small part of Jonas couldn't help but despise the couple for the small role they had in his disappearance. Had the two not traumatized poor Regina by tying her to a tree Mads wouldn't have felt the need to accompany the girl home through the forest road and maybe he wouldn't have been kidnapped. 

Jonas knew he was being unfair. Ulrich, despite the laundry list of character flaws, adored his brother and it was simply too cruel to blame it on _him_ rather than the... _actual kidnapper._ Besides, a small part inside him couldn't help but blame himself for the incident. _Surely_ , he could have walked Regina home himself? Or protected her better? Not let the stupid feud (a one-sided one really), between Regina and Katharina, become so serious. _Surely_ , there was something he could have done help made? So he tried his best to avoid Ulrich.

Fortunately, he didn't need to have any contacts with Ulrich to get news about Mads as Regina was the granddaughter of a police officer. And Jonas had a friend in Ulrich and Katharina's friend group. 

Hannah.

Where was Hannah? 

“Have you seen Hannah anywhere?” He asked. 

Peter raised an eyebrow. “Krüger? I don't know. Shouldn't she be tailing Nielsen and Albers?”

“Don't say that. She calls it _friendship._ ” Peter chuckled at his response. There was the other complicated matter. Hannah. The first friend Jonas had ever made. Who, because the fates hated Jonas, was friends with Regina's bully and had an obvious crush on Ulrich; which complicated matters between all of them. 

Jonas could never understand the way Hannah clung to them. She could do better than both of them, really and despite what others thought of her Jonas could see how bright and kind she could really be. But next to Ulrich and Katharina, people always treated her like a boring and vacant sidekick and Jonas could see that it damaged her fragile self-esteem. She had always acted like it didn't bother her but he _knew_ Hannah and once you pay attention, _actually_ pay attention to her, reading her would become much easier. Which really, made the fact that they had been drifting away from each other for a while, all the more upsetting. 

“Hey Jonas, are you alright?” Peter asked, probably concerned about Jonas dozing off. (A habit he had when he was alone and had only gotten worse after Mads's disappearance.)

“It's nothing.” He hoped that his smile was convincing enough. ' _After years of living with Ines, you really learn things about fake smiling during times of concern._ ' “It's just that she's a little bit late. Hannah, I mean and I'm a little worried.” 

Peter tilted his head a little bit. “ Don't worry it's probably the rain. Also,” He pointed a finger at him. “Don't lie to me, Kahnwald. I can see that there's something else.”

Jonas smiled again. This time, a real one. And just like he could read his friends, they could read _him_.

“You know, nightmares. Since Mads...” Images from his nightmare flashed before his eyes: Mads covered in some sort of black substance making ragged noises and staring at Jonas from the side of his bed.

A look of sorrow and understanding colored Peter's face and he nodded. “What if you tell me about them.” He said. 

That had him laughing. “ Are you a dream interpreter now, Doppler?”

Peter chuckled. “Nah, I'm thinking more of a therapist or something like that. It's either that as a career path or becoming a pastor in the Winden church. Which sounds like the more boring one.”

The two of them laughed as they headed to their classroom; worries, momentarily forgotten. 

After class, he said goodbye to Peter and had managed to get a glance at Hannah's ponytail, but the girl was gone before he could say anything. But he felt no need to follow her. ' _I'll just talk to her tomorrow_. '

But there was something else. Hannah wasn't with Ulrich and Katharina. Which knowing her, meant that she either was looking for them or that she was avoiding them altogether. 

_'Please don't let those two be doing what I think they are doing.'_ He thought as he started looking around for Regina. 

And as expected he found Regina walking away from the pair, only surprisingly, she didn't seem hurt at all.

“Did they bother you? ” He asked. 

Regina sighed. “Not much. We just had a row and dear god Jonas, I've never been insulted this much in my entire life! Katharina thinking I'm the scum of the earth is not a new thing but this is a new low. You wouldn't believe what they accused me of. ”

“Why? It must be really bad. I mean... it's Albers. ” He said with a frown.

Regina smirked. “Are you going home?” 

“No, I'm going to Tannhaus's shop to get a watch back.” He responded. 

“I'll come with you then. Mama is at the plant so I'm in no hurry. I'll tell you on the way. Who knows? Maybe I'll buy something for grandpa's birthday as well.”

He nodded and the two of them left the school grounds on his bike; Regina started reciting the tale of her new conflict with the notorious pair which had apparently started a few days before. 

“Okay, so do you remember the whole thing with Ulrich getting arrested? When I was walking home a few days ago, Albers comes to me and goes on and on about how _I_ was the one who accused Nielsen of raping her. I know, stupid right? No, she didn't hurt me much. Seriously, I was fine! This guy Aleksandr came and defended me and scared them away. Told them to apologize and to never bother me again. You should have seen their faces. Huh? Well... He was just too scary I guess. You know that Nielsen is all bark and no bite. WHAT? Shut up, Jonas. I don't have a crush. I just met the guy. No, I'm NOT blushing. Keep your eyes on the road. Anyway, they confront me today about how it's not over and bluh bluh and I just snapped you know. I told them that it _wasn't_ me. Do you know who got the idea in their heads? Your friend Krüger. Yeah, you heard me right. Oh please don't go singing her praises in front of me, Jonas. Just because you braided her hair when she was five or whatever doesn't mean that I should like her. So I tell her how stupid she is. Which felt really good by the way. And how Hannah always had that pathetic crush on Nielsen. Don't look at me like that! You know it's true. And how she would do anything to be with him. You should have seen Albers's face. It was as red as my mama's new dress and that's when you came. Oh look we're here. Jonas, are you okay? Jonas?”

Now, Jonas didn't carry a mirror with himself wherever he went. But had he looked at a mirror by the time Regina had finished. He was sure that he would have found his face, as pale as Ines's hospital uniform. 

God, he should have followed Hannah. 


	4. I raised myself My legs were weak (I prayed my mind be good to me)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hannah's a little bit out of it.

Hannah didn't need to open her eyes to know that something wasn't right. The arctic blast of air that had woken her up was enough to tell her that this wasn't her room. Sure, Hannah's room was the draftiest one in her house but that didn't mean that she spent her time in a morgue which judging by how dark it was, wasn't an impossible theory about her whereabouts. And while Hannah's bed mattress wasn't made from the softest material, it never made her backache and feel as stiff as a tree branch. Once her eyes adjusted to the darkness of her location,(Which wasn't an easy task because she could barely open her eyes), She tried to get up by pushing herself up; only for her body to cry out in agony and a wave of dizziness almost making her collapse again. It felt like every muscle in her body was melting and her flesh was replaced with bricks. Her angry wounds were covered with soil. After a few minutes, she was finally allowed to get up and look around her.

She was in a cave. Correction: She was in the Winden caves. How did she get here? She tried to remember how she had reached her current location only for her memory to draw a blank. The last things she remembered were...

The world was spinning around her as she remembered the events that transpired after picking up the telephone. Katharina losing her mind and attacking her, running away into the forest. The stranger lady taking her to the cave. Suddenly, she felt difficulty in breathing. Hannah never liked close spaces and while the cave was wide, it somehow felt like she was in her father's van with three extra people.

She needed to get out of there. She needed to get out of this dark, dank place back to the sunlight and the air, the kind that wasn’t freezing but _fresh_ and _real_ and not stale or hanging over her like it was about to drop down onto her shoulders with the weight of the world and bury her alive. Maybe then her lungs would act the way they were always supposed to work, maybe then it wouldn’t feel like her heart was trying to cut its way out of her chest.

Maybe then she would wake up from this nightmare. Maybe through some miracle, everything would turn out to be a hallucination brought on by how hard she had hit her head after hitting the asphalt this morning.

She began running; paying no attention to the stabbing pain that shot through her leg with each step or the dizziness that washed over her body with every step and finally, _finally_ a beam of light could be seen from the entrance of the cave and she chased it.

Getting out of the cave didn't wake her up, but the cool, fresh breeze that hit her face and carried the scent of the wet grass and leaves and the earth after the rain was welcomed. She glanced around and was surprised to see stuff that had definitely NOT been in the forest the last time she had checked. a couch for example.

She decided to sit down on the old thing since her legs were killing her not caring whether it was dirty or not. The world was quiet, a direct contrast to the storm in her head. This was no dream. It didn't matter how much she wanted it to change or if used her imagination and pretended she could somehow fix the world around her. Her life was ruined. Katharina would make sure that every next minute in the school was a living hell for her. Ulrich would never look at her face. She was practically friendless. A sob made its way up her throat but she locked it within her chest. If she started crying, she would never be able to stop, and frankly, with the walk that awaited her, she was in no hurry to tire her upper body with needless crying that wouldn't get her anywhere. ' _I can cry when I get home._ ' Instead, she let a few tears fall, resting her body on the back pillows and staring at the sky.

After what felt like hours, she got up and started navigating her way out of the forest, a part of her mind whispering that something was different about it, but the voice was drowned by the sounds of sorrow that came from her heart (And from her mouth because of her aching body. Say whatever you want about Helen Albers, but she had thought her daughter some moves.)

Something was wrong. Maybe Hannah really _was_ dreaming. How else could the different houses and outlandish cars be explained? How else could the fact that her own house was different be explained? Had she walked into the wrong neighborhood? No. Hannah may have been dizzy, but she wasn't _that_ out of it. 

But why had her house suddenly transformed? Hannah pinched her wrist but the pain did nothing to wake her up from this bizarre dream or change the sight in front of her. She looked around herself one last time to confirm that yes, this really was the street where she had lived her entire life and stepped near the door and took her house key, and attempted to unlock the door. Nothing. The damn thing wouldn't work. She pinched the same place as before but the insanity continued.

Suddenly the door opened and a teenage girl that Hannah had never seen before stood in front of her. The girl had long dark hair not that different from her own. Her warm brown eyes were warm and her face was almost perfect if not for a faded scar. Her eyes widened the moment she saw Hannah and her mouth hung agape. “Oh my god! What happened to you?” 

“I...I...Who are you?” She asked dumbfounded. 

“Who am I? Who are you? Who did this to you?” The girl asked and she took a step toward Hannah and she took a step back. 

“What are you doing in my house? Where is my Papa?” Hannah asked desperately. The girl's eyes softened and she shook her head.“My name is Silja and I live here. This is my house.”

Hannah blinked. Blinked again after pinching her wrist once again but the weird dream didn't end. Her papa didn't appear at the doorway no matter how much she tried to materialize him with her mind. “N...No. I...This is...I...This is my house. I've lived here for fourteen years and I've never even met you. Who are you?”

“I've already told you my name. Now, please, tell me what your name is.” The girl-Silja- said softly.

It felt like she had left her own body and was staring at herself from above.“Hannah...Hannah Krüger... I have to...” She watched herself take a few steps back. “I need to leave. I'm so...” Her conscious snapped back once Silja grabbed her by her waist and lifted her like she weighed nothing. “Wh...What are you doing? Put me down!”

“Nope! You are not going anywhere. Have you looked at a mirror lately? You look like you've been trampled by an elephant. I can't let you go back to the street like this... Dear God, stop struggling! I'm trying to help you, you little snot spoon!” 

Hannah punched and kicked but Silja didn't let her go and after a few seconds she gave up as her muscled felt paralyzed and another wave of dizziness hit her. From the corner of her eyes, she could see the house. It was different. The layout, the decor. Was that... What kind of TV was that? Silja put her down on a couch. “Please, don't move okay. I need to check for any broken bones. wait here.” She rushed to another room, leaving Hannah alone.

Too weak to move, she laid her head down on a pillow and tried to gather her thoughts, but nothing useful came to mind. She couldn't make sense of anything. What had happened to her house? Was this a highly detailed dream? Had she hit her head too hard this morning and was in some sort of coma? Or had Katharina killed her and this was the afterlife? Maybe the woman that took her to the cave was the grim ripper or a death angel.

Silja came back to the room with a bag and took a first aid kit, because everybody came prepared today, and settled down beside her. “Look, I know first aid and I can bandage your cuts and wounds, but you are covered in filth and those wounds will get infected if you don't clean yourself. Can you take a shower?” 

“What?” Hannah asked in shock. 

“I asked if you can clean yourself on your own, or should I help you?” Silja asked calmly.

“I...I can't... I need to go home. I need to call home. My papa must be worried sick.” A horrifying thought came to her mind. How many hours had passed since she left home? Did papa see her note and called Katharina? Did Katharina tell him about the false testimony? Her thoughts came to a stop by Silja's next question. “And what's your father's name?” She took a strange rectangular object out of her pocket. 

“Sebastian Krüger .” She answered. Eyeing the strange object. If this was a dream, it really was a weird one. She could impress people by describing it. ' _Not that I have anyone to tell anymore._ ' Silja raised an eyebrow.

“Sebastian Krüger was the former owner of this house. He sold it to our family years ago. We then reconstructed the house. Made it bigger and all.” 

If this was a joke, it was truly a sick and cruel one, because everything in Hannah's world came to a halt. It was as if time itself stopped as Hannah stared at the girl in front of her dumbly. “What? Years ago... No... You're... That's no funny!”

“I'm not joking. Should I go bring the house document for you to believe me?”

“B...But...Years ago? What's the date?” She asked, The fear growing every second.

“September fifth.” Silja answered. _'So I was in the cave for the whole night?_ ' 

“What's the year?” She asked, her voice barely audible. Silja's eyes softened in what appeared to be sympathy. 

“You're really out of it, huh? 2019.” She answered.

“2019. ” Hannah whispered, and it was a miracle that she hadn't started cackling. This was a joke. A stupid, sick joke. Hannah pinched her wrist again and came to the conclusion that it was going to become black before she finally woke up. “It's not funny. ” She said. 

Silja sighed in irritation and Hannah stared as she seemed to do something with the object. She turned it toward her and Hannah saw something displayed on the small screen. A calendar. 

September 5th, 2019.

No. God, this was insane. Surely, Hannah had died and this was purgatory. ' _Or maybe hell._ ' It was honestly much more feasible than the other option. The thing that her changed environment and this girl wanted her to believe. That she had entered the cave and upon exiting it, somehow ended up in the future. 33 years to be exact; her mind supplemented like it was a useful piece of information. Like it changed the fact that the world was trying to convince her that she was in-“2019.” She repeated. 

“You can go out and ask anybody and they'll answer the same. Though I don't recommend going outside like this. ” Silja said. “What year do you think it is?”

“1986. ” Hannah said pleading with her eyes for Silja to stop this game. “It's 1986.” ' _Oh, please let me wake up already._ '

Silja shook her head. “You are not okay. Look, I'm sorry I grabbed you but if you go out saying things like this, people will think you've gone bonkers.” She got up and held a hand toward her. “If you won't tell me what your real name is or where you live, that's fine. Your condition doesn't leave the reason for imagination. ” Did Silja think that Hannah ran away from home? Not a stupid thought considering her condition. Despite her confusion, Hannah could still think and she knew how she must have looked. “But at least let me help you. ” 

Not knowing what to do and honestly, too tired to disagree, Hannah let Silja take her upstairs and prepare the bathroom for her. Maybe it was her hunger, exhaustion, and pain; or perhaps she still felt like she was lucid dreaming that allowed her to bathe in a stranger's house. (Or was it really? ) 

She cleaned herself, ignoring the pain from her scars and bruises, and finally noticed that her hair was down and one of her hairpins was missing which only added to the sorrow as she had those two since she was young. 

In the bathtub, she finally felt truly alone and that she had enough space and time to think and all her thoughts terrified her, because of the pain the feeling of the water around her, the weird cars and her transformed house, Silja's words and that thing she used to show her the date were evidence for something that was or should have been impossible. She picked up a bottle of shampoo and to her dismay, she didn't recognize the brand at all. She turned it around and looked for the dates. 2019.

_2019_

She weighed the pieces of information against each other again and again, desperately trying to reconcile them in a futile attempt to avoid the crushing reality. Yet despite her best attempts at self-deception, the truth could not be denied.

She was in 2019. She was at her own house 33 years into the future with no idea how she had gotten there or how she was supposed to go back.

_'Can I even go back? How did I get here? How is this even possible? I was in the cave with that woman. Did I fall asleep? Did she bring me here? Or is she lost In another time herself? '_

But she had no answer to any of those questions and it frustrated her to no end. Two plus two was equaling thirty-three and she didn't know where her math had gone so wrong.

Not knowing what to do, she dried herself and dressed up in the clothes Silja provided her with. The clothes were a little big for her but that wasn't what got her attention but the different style and the way they felt on her body. Not that surprising considering they were supposedly from a different time period. 'Should I be more panicked about this? I'm strangely numb to this whole situation. Then again, I still haven't ruled out the possibility that I'm dead or something.' 

She looked at the mirror only to recoil at the creature staring back at her. Her face was marred with scars. The black eye explained why she could barely open them and the black and blue bruises on her cheeks definitely explained why talking her. Her jaw was also bruised and there were red marks on her neck. _'You didn't show mercy, did you, Katharina?'_

“Hey, Are you okay up there?” Silja called from downstairs.

“I'm fine.” She responded and walked down the stairs while looking around the house, her eyes marveling at every object she couldn't recognize. 

“Sit down.” Silja gestured to the couch. “Whoever did this sure did a number on you.” She frowned deeply as she looked at Hannah's face. “Kid, who did this to you?”

Hannah gulped. What was she supposed to answer? The whole thing was so surreal. “Kids from school, I was uhh...”

“Okay, okay, I get it.” She answered. She began tending to Hannah's wounds. Outside of her daze, Hannah noted that this was the second time someone took care of her like this in the last 24 hours.

It took a while but finally, Silja's work was over. Hannah watched the girl walk to the kitchen; leaving her alone with her thoughts once again.

What was she supposed to do? Just how was this even possible? The world was spinning around her once again. Her eyes drifted to the hairpin clutched in her hand and she clenched her jaw in an effort not to scream. It sounded stupid to lose her composure over a piece of accessory, especially after keeping it for so long. But she had worn the two blue pins in her head as long as she remembered everyday and losing one of them was the final straw. The proof she needed to know that her life was never going to be the same.

“So, we still have some leftovers from last night. How does lasagna sound?” Silja asked as she strolled toward her. “You hun... What happened?” She asked, clearly distressed at seeing Hannah's tears. She sat down beside her and put a hand on her shoulder. “What is it? Are you in pain? Do you need anything?” 

“I lost it. ” Hannah whispered. “I lost it. I lost it.” Tears streamed down her face. Sobs threatening to get out of her mouth.

“Lost what?” She gently cupped Hannah's cheek and turned her face toward her own. “Tell me. whatever it is I'll help you with it.”

“My hairpin. There were two of them but now I... I...” She looked up. Feeling as helpless and confused as she had felt years ago when mama left them for good. She expected Silja to be baffled or to make fun of her for crying over such a stupid matter but the girl surprised Hannah. “Oh, Sweetie.” She muttered before hugging her.“It's going to be okay.” And that was it. A pained sob escaped from her lips.

“It's not! It can't be okay. It can never be... I can't go back home. I don't know ho...” She stopped mid-sentence, realizing how crazy it might sound. She cried in frustration at not even being able to express her problem, let alone find a way to solve it. “I don't have anywhere to go!”

“That's not true. ” Silja said as she ran fingers through Hannah's hair. “Look, you can stay here as long as you need. I'm not going to toss you out in this condition. You can stay in the guest room and we can... We can think of what to do later okay. we have time. You'll figure this out. I'll help you okay?” She kissed the top of Hannah's head making her breath hitch in surprise. “Now, let's dry your hair and have some lunch. You must be starving. I know I am.” With that, she gave Hannah a reassuring smile that somehow made her face glow and Hannah suddenly realized how much the two of them looked alike. They could be siblings. She got up and offered her a hand.

With nothing better to do, Hannah took her hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise next time they'll meet.


	5. Cause your blood's running cold outside the familiar true to life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mikkel is too young for jail, Deja-vu intensifies and Hannah still hasn't ruled the dead possibility yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Crawls from underneath the rock. Sees how late it is. Nearly has a heart attack.*  
> I'm so sorry for the late update. life got busy and I just didn't know how I wanted this chapter to go. I promise I'll get back on track.

_'Okay, this is too much.'_ Mikkel thought as he finished his breakfast. ' _You two have zero subtlety.'_

Thankfully, mama didn't discover the reason for their little adventure in the forest and all went well. (Well, not everything since getting wet caused Martha to get symptoms of a cold.) It was in the morning however that things started to get weird, or weirder. 

Apparently, Silja's little comment about Magnus and Martha being irresponsible when it came to him last night affected them much more than Mikkel thought it would have; because the two of them were making an effort to be extra nice to him in the morning. Some of those efforts included but were not limited to: Magnus waking him up like a normal human being instead of swatting him on the forehead. Martha's loud good morning. Magnus pulling the chair for him and not taking anything off his plate just to be annoying, Martha asking about his plans after school and offering to hang out afterward and a lot of other things, and honestly? It was freaking him out. At first, he thought the two of them had hit their heads while running the night before or maybe gotten possessed by the sinister thing in the cave but then realized that while their behavior was related to that night, it was for a different reason. 

_'I'm not even angry about that. Though... I'm not complaining either. Maybe I can get Martha to let me borrow her laptop. I should remember to thank Silja later.'_ He looked at his mother who was sending his siblings, concerned looks. _'And she's right. These two are way too obvious. She's definitely going to get suspicious and then they'll get in trouble.'_

“Tune the niceties down you two.” He said and smiled at their bewildered faces. Then, he got up and rushed to his bedroom to get his backpack before mama could ask him anything. 

When he came downstairs. Everybody except mama was already in the car. Mama was looking at a family photo, appearing deep in thought. 

“Mama? We should go.” He told her. His voice seemed to have snapped her of her daze because she gave him a nod and the two of them rushed to the door. 

The school was boring as always. Besides, there was something that occupied his mind and he could not wait for school to end. Hannah's little gift which he was supposed to open after school ended. He thought long and hard about what kind of trick could be in it and why the wait was necessary. He briefly wondered if he was going to see her again, which wasn't a distant possibility considering that weird thing she had told him about needing his help. 

So after lunch, the first thing he did was to open the box. 

What he was one of the last things he expected to see. 

_'It's a hairpin.'_

There was a simple blue hairpin in the box. 

Mikkel blinked. Blinked again but nothing changed. He would have probably been less surprised to see a small bomb.

“What am I supposed to do with it?” He whispered. 

“What are you looking at?” Martha asked. Peering over his shoulder. 

“Huh? Nothing.” He put the hairpin in his pocket. “Just something for my magic trick.” which wasn't false really. ' _Though, I have to figure out the trick first._ '

The phone rang. Mikkel quickly got up from the couch and picked the phone up. 

“Hello?” it was Silja. 

“Hey, Silja.” He said. 

“Oh Mikkel, hi! Is everything alright? Last night was...” She started but it seemed like she didn't know how exactly to describe it and honestly? Mikkel didn't blame her. 

“I'm fine. Really. Thank you by the way.” He replied. “Although, your words last night might have struck a nerve. They are actually being _nice_ to me and it's creepy.”

Silja laughed. “As they should. Hey, is Martha over there?” He hummed in response. “Good, listen, I gave her a flash drive last week and I _kinda_ need it and I was wondering if you could come over and give it back to me?”

He raised an eyebrow. “Why me? Not that I mind, but you could just ask Martha or...” She cut him off. 

“We have plum cake and lime Jelly, that's why.” She said. “And you know... _someone_ has to help me finish all the food.”

Well... Mikkel wasn't going to say no to _that_. 

* * *

“Oh, good. You're here.” Silja said as she basically dragged him outside. “We kinda have an emergency here”

“What kind of emergency?” He asked as he looked around the house. “Did you set the lunch on fire? Or did you break the TV again?”

Silja glared. “That was only once you squirrel. No, none of the above. But I need you to keep it a secret for a while. Magician's hat and all.”

Mikkel raised a brow at the use of their secret code. They only used it when they were planning a prank or a surprise party for his or Silja's families' birthdays. He sighed and handed her the flash drive. “I have the feeling that this whole thing was an excuse for me to come over.”

“And I have a feeling that you should let your professional magician dream go and become a prophet, but then again, I can't be sure. You just know me too well.” Silja smiled. “well, the problem is upstairs, though probably not awake.”

“Did you finally get tired of Bartosz being oblivious to your feelings and killed him?” He guessed.

“What? My feel... What feelings?” She blushed. “No!”

“Did you kidnap somebody?” He asked.

“Do you think I'm capable of that.” She asked with wide eyes. 

He crossed his arms. “As in being able to do so? Totally. You're the kind of person who would lure an innocent 11-year-old kid to your house with the false promise of cake and jelly.”

“It's not a false promise. We actually do have those.” She defended herself.

“Also, the excuse of flash drives.” He pointed out with a smile.

“I actually needed that but that's a good point.” She smirked. “Look, today someone came to the house and she looked beaten up...”

“Beaten up?” He started with worry. “Does she go to school with us?”

“No.” She answered.

“And you just what? Let her in? Why didn't you take her to my dad at the police station, or the hospital?”

“Look, she was confused and scared. so I bandaged her up and told her to rest upstairs.” She answered. “Besides, you'll get why I couldn't take her anywhere once you talk to her.”

“You want me to talk to her?” It didn't make any sense. “Why?”

Silja sighed. “Look, I blew my first impression and I thought that the kid might actually talk to someone her own age. You know I'm not good with kids.”

“That is the biggest lie you've ever told me.” He glared. “You know... Yesterday, I was told that someone is going to need my help today.”

“Well, I suppose that person is going to take the prophet title from you.” Silja smiled and went to the kitchen.

Mikkel sighed. Don't get him wrong he would always try to help Silja but... “This is totally illegal. I'm too young to go to jail.”

“Relax, nothing will happen. ” Silja said from the kitchen.

“And how will you know she'll talk to _me_? I'm not good with...girls my age.” He grumbled.

Silja laughed. “Oh, now that's the biggest lie you told me. Everyone knows the Nielsen men inherited their parents' charms.”

“Stop it.” He groaned.

“Mikkel houdini, ladies man.” She teased. 

Mikkel hid his face in his hands and groaned again, his face, probably red. When he looked up again, Silja was there with a plate that had a piece of plum cake on it. 

“I hate you.” He said and She laughed.

“No, you don't.” She handed him the plate.

***

It was a miracle that Hannah had managed to eat anything at all. Her stomach was churning and it felt like it would empty itself any second; but on the other hand, Hannah was tired and hungry and the food smelt heavenly so she managed to empty her plate, and thankfully, the food stayed where it belonged. 

Unsurprisingly, all the pressure on her wrist had caused a blood blister to appear on her arm. Which surprised Silja when she noticed as she thought that she had taken care of all her injuries and Hannah couldn't tell the girl that she had done it to herself. Silja had given her some ice wrapped in a towel and bandaged her arm. Hannah momentarily wondered if she had started to look like a mummy with all the bandages on her body.

Silja sent her to the guest room and told her to rest. When she was finally alone, Hannah lied down on the bed. It felt like there was a boulder lodged inside of her throat and if it ever broke, she would scream until her throat tore apart. But she kept the silence. The last few hours felt as if she had been drowning in the sea; trying to keep her head above water and now she had finally reached the shore but couldn't for the life of her, choke the water out. 

' _How is this even possible? This isn't a stupid movie! You don't just wake up in the future. How can one even go to the future from were they are if hadn't happened yet?_ '

She turned to the side and stared at the wall, which was a calming shade of blue. ' _If pinching myself until I'm black and blue didn't wake me up I doubt banging my head across the wall would do the trick._ ' She closed her eyes. ' _It doesn't have to make sense if it isn't real, right? I can still be dead and this still could be my personal hell. A place where I'm truly alone and nobody even recognizes me let alone cares. Would be a fitting punishment too. My worst fears come to life._ '

She blinked away the tears. ' _Just go to sleep. Maybe it will be all over then. '_

Despite the thousands of thoughts in her mind, dosing off was the easiest thing to do. 

* * *

“Okay! Can you take these to our guest, upstairs? I need to check on the food.” Silja's voice woke her up from her slumber. 

Which meant that it really _was_ real. 

Hannah heard footsteps getting closer to the room she was currently in and tensed. Who was it? Silja's family?

The door opened and it felt like Hannah's heart was about to jump out of her chest; For at the doorway stood a boy, Perhaps a few years younger than her. He looked about 11 or 12, with brown hair and blue eyes that were wide in shock as they looked down upon her and for a few moments Hanna managed a few cohesive thoughts and wondered whether his shock was because her condition or if he, too was marveling at how familiar Hannah looked.

God, did she feel like she knew him and it stole her breath away. 

They stared at each other for a few seconds and then finally Hannah broke the silence with a tentative “Hi.”

It broke him out of his daze. “You... Wh... Are you alright?”

His worried look felt a little weird. Was it the familiar tone or the look in his eyes? 

“I'm...better now.” She said hesitantly. In a way it was both a lie and the truth. She saw a glass of orange juice and a plate with a piece of cake in his hands. Suddenly she felt ridiculously hungry. “Come in.”

He stepped in and walked toward her. Her eyes never left him as he placed the plate and the glass on the nightstand beside her bed. She watched as his eyes widened. She followed his line of sight and realized that he was staring at her hairpin.

“What's your name?” She asked. His eyes snapped back to her. 

“Umm... Mikkel. What's yours.” He said softly.

' _No way... He must be joking! That's just... No, I refuse to accept it._ ' But was it really impossible? Considering were... no, _when_ she was? Those eyes that were staring at her were the same eyes from yesterday. _'Or is it 33 years ago?'_ That worried look was way too familiar. “Hannah. Hannah Krüger. ” She watched his eyes widen and his breath get stuck in his throat with a mixture of interest and anxiety. 

“You... I know it might sound weird but I think I saw you before-” She cut him off.

“Yesterday morning?” She asked and he gasped and nodded. “Call me crazy and honestly, I just don't care anymore, but last time I saw you, it was 1986.”

“1986?” He asked, obviously confused; which left her oddly satisfied. ' _Hey, let's have someone other than me utterly confused for once! Wouldn't that be nice!_ ' She waited for him to continue but he was seemingly speechless. She could practically _hear_ the gears in his mind working, trying to determine whether she was joking or not. “I'm from the past.” He blinked. “Well? aren't you going to tell me I'm crazy? You're sister down there didn't seem to believe me.”

“Silja isn't my sister. Not in the traditional sense anyway.” He said. “And well... normally, I would think that you watch too many sci-fi movies but...”

She watched him bury his hand in his pocket and stretch a closed fist in front of her. When he opened his fist she felt her heart stop for the millionth time that day.

Her hairpin. She examined it carefully. It really was her hairpin. She looked up. “How did you find it?” He didn't answer. “Answer me!”

“A woman gave it to me yesterday morning. It was in a box. She told me to open it today.” He said. Her heartbeat quickened. 

“A woman? Dark hair? Hazel eyes?” She asked and he nodded. “Wait... I saw her after school ended. How could she have given it to you in the morning?” She growled. “It doesn't make any sense!”

“Did she...” He swallowed. “Did she do this to you?”

She eyed him curiously. It seemed like it physically pained him to ask it. She touched her black eye only to wince from the pain. “No.” She shook her head. He visibly relaxed. “There were these two bullies from school and well... You can already see it on my face. I was running away from them when this lady came and helped me hide in the cave. Only when I woke up she wasn't there and apparently I'm 33 years into the future.” She said with a hint of bitterness in her voice. It felt so _good_ to finally admit it all out. even though he was probably going to think she ran away from the mental asylum. His whispered answer was the last thing she expected. “She said her name was Hannah.” 

She swore that she was going to have a heart attack by the end of the day. “What?” 

“She said-” She cut him off. “I heard you the first time I just...” Tears threatened to spill out of her eyes. “I want to be alone. I just... It's too much. Please leave.”

Her head hung down and she refused to meet his eyes. He took a deep breath. “I'll tell Silja to bring your dinner here, alright? I think we both need some time to think.” He took her hand and all she could think was how familiar his hand felt in hers. He placed the hairpin in her hand and closed her fingers around it. She finally looked up and gave a teary smile. He gave her a nod and got up.

He walked to the door and turned around. “Oh by the way. Eat that cake. Silja's plum cake is to die for.”

Despite her grim situation, She laughed and nodded. He smiled and closed the door behind him.

Despite wanting nothing more than having privacy a few moments before, she felt stupidly lonely now that he was gone; which was an accomplishment all to itself considering her situation. 

She took the plate off the nightstand and buried the fork inside. Tears finally falling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well that went well...  
> It's weird how easily DARK characters can be easily convinced of time travel. Then again, they have good evidence. Mikkel and Hannah are smart kids and they had a little nudge from their future selves. Mikkel isn't convinced yet. But do not worry. Our little magician is a better investigator then his great great great grandfather Egon...


	6. And the question was more (I did not understand)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hannah develops a taste for golden milk and Mikkel should replace Egon.

Hannah cringed after hearing the floorboard creak for the tenth time after each step. ' _There goes my attempt at being sneaky. This is definitely my house._ ' 

To say that she felt lost would have been the understatement of the century. Everything that happened after the boy -Mikkel if he was to be believed- had left, felt like an out of body experience. She ate her dinner, brought upstairs by Silja mechanically, it's taste lost on her and her confused mind. She could hear the sound of the conversations coming from downstairs. Silja's obviously didn't live alone. Hannah should have realized this considering the older girl's appearance. After an hour, Silja came to her and told her that she could stay for the night.

She should have been greatly comforted by the idea of having a shelter for the foreseeable future, and she would have been, had it not been for the conversation with _him_. _She said her name was Hannah._ repeated itself in her mind. What was she supposed to do with this information? Every time she felt like she got a piece to the puzzle, the picture became more confusing.

She could take in the fact that she was in the future. She had become numb to the horror to some degree and that had let the little piece of information finally settle in her mind without causing mental breakdowns (Or at least, that was what she told herself); and she could to some degree accept the fact that the man she had seen the morning before everything in her life going wrong, was the boy that visited her. It might have been a quick assumption on her part. But after all the craziness that she had experienced up to that point, it wasn't that out of the realm of possibilities. Besides, hadn't he said that they were going to meet today? well, they did. Only in a different way than she had imagined. The fact that he, both of them knew her also helped a bit. (She wasn't ready to accept the implications of their identities yet). But the women that brought her to the cave being herself? That was where she drew the line. Maybe it was stupid, especially after everything and how accepting she was of Mikkel's identity; but she could not simply accept it.

The evidence was all there. The women's looks, the fact that she had her hairpin,(Hannah checked it more times she could count and it was even faded in the same places). But she just couldn't let it into her mind.

She needed more answers and while she didn't know where to exactly get them, she knew when to start.

The caves

The idea of going to that place was enough to make her heart plummet into her stomach but she knew that she needed to start somewhere. So after midnight, she decided to sneak out of the house and sneak into the caves. It wasn't the perfect plan by any means. The fact that the caves were probably darker than the night sky itself was enough explanation. It was dangerous and most likely futile, even if she managed to find a lighter or by some miracle in the kitchen without waking anyone up (by some bigger miracle); but she was desperate. 

' _Though, if the floor keeps creaking I won't have-_ ' She turned around at the sound of the low hum from the kitchen. Panicked, she tried to retreat upstairs when the same voice spoke. “Come downstairs, dear.” 

Hannah walked downstairs, heart racing. One of the kitchen lights was on and she could see a tall woman in a red robe standing by the stove. “Well, won't you sit down?” She asked in a chirpy tune. 

Maybe she had a big imagination, but she honestly felt like she was inside a scene from a horror movie or some dark fairy tale where a nice lady would turn out to be an evil witch. 

She sat down on a chair and the woman turned around. Hannah's eyes widened at how beautiful she was. Dark brown hair and blue eyes. She certainly looked younger than her actual age if she really _was_ Silja's mother.

“It's too late for a stroll, don't you think?” She asked. Hannah opened and closed her mouth a few times, unsure of what to reply.

“I...I wanted to...” She spluttered uncomfortably.

“Trying to go back home?” The woman guessed. Hannah nodded. “Don't you think the middle of the night is an unorthodox time to go to the streets? Even in a town like Winden, one can never be too careful.” 

Hannah didn't know what to say. ' _Well, I knew by morning you would probably hand me to the authorities and I really needed to go to some cave in the hopes of maybe, just maybe finding my way to 33 years ago? no, I'm not crazy._ ' she was really tired of trying to explain everything to others. 

“Golden milk?” The woman suddenly asked and Hannah's head went back up in confusion.

“What?” She asked.

The woman chuckled. “Have you ever had golden milk?” Hannah shook her head. “Well, I always drink some, when I can't sleep. Would you like some?” Hannah nodded. “Excellent!” She clapped her hands and her eyes widened. “Ugh, I sounded like some mothers from old sitcoms. I should never do that again. Don't you agree? ” Despite the awkwardness of her situation, Hannah had to suppress a smile. “I'm Agnes Tuber by the way.” She extended her hand and Hannah shook it.

A few minutes later Agnes was sitting in a front of Hannah was drinking the yellowish goodness greedily. It had a rich taste and a spicy undertone and was honestly the best drink she'd ever had. “Thank you.” She said, sincerely. “For this and everything else.”

“It was nothing.” Agnes smiled. “You can have more; just ask.” She stared at Hannah for a few seconds before continuing. “Now, I think there's something we need to talk about.” Hannah must have visibly stiffened because Agnes smiled again. “Nothing to worry about. You are not in trouble. I just need to ask a few questions and I need you to answer honestly.” She put a hand on Hannah's. “Did you run away from home?” 

Hannah's stomach twisted and a chill ran down her spine. It wasn't that weird of an assumption to think that she was some abused girl that ran away after getting beaten up. It was too easy to lie about it too. She could just say that she was a poor runaway to gather up sympathy and oh please don't give her back. Let her stay. But even the idea of lying about that seemed out of the line. Her relationship with her father wasn't the best and they weren't as close as Hannah wished them to be but to claim he was abusing her? 'It wouldn't be the worst lie you ever told now, would it? The only reason you are in this whole mess is the lie you told about Ulrich and Katharina.' Her heart sped up at the thought of her (former) friend. She thought about The way Helene Albers addressed her daughter, Her scream and insults, and how she could hear it every time she waited outside of her door. Katharina's bruises, Katharina, and the way she tried to hide them with make-up only to angrily scrub it away, while angry tears streamed down her eyes, Hannah was the only witness to that and Katharina threatened her to not tell anyone. (There was no need for the threats. Hannah's mouth would have been sealed either way.)

' _I'm a liar but this is just too much. besides, there are other ways of getting through this._ ' She shook her head. “No, these are all from a fight I got myself into.” Albeit, a very one-sided one. “Are you going to throw me out?” She asked nervously.

Agnes sighed deeply. “No, you are a guest here. I'm aware of the promise Silja made; a very illegal one really, but she's a girl of her words. She'd destroy the whole Winden police department if it means keeping it.” She laughed and Hannah couldn't help but join in. “I'm also aware of the way she dragged you into the house.” Agnes gave an exasperated sigh. “I swear she can be such an immature... it's basically kidnapping!”

“So is keeping me here really.” Hannah blurted out and then, snapped her mouth shut. ' _Not the smartest thing to say when hoping they would keep you around, you idiot._ ' 

“Technically you can leave whenever you want. You are not a prisoner here. Though, I _am_ committing a crime by not notifying the authorities.” At Hannah's panicked face she added. “Then again, every family in Winden has a secret.”

“So, you are not throwing me out?” Hannah asked and Agnes shook her head.

“Do you have anywhere to go?” She asked and Hannah shook her head. Unless she could find a way to 1986, _this_ was her home. “Well, I suppose you can stay here.”

“Thank you so much. ” Hannah said. “You and your... I don't know what Silja is to you, ma'am. you look too young to be her mother.” She said, hoping not to have sounded rude. 

Agnes laughed. “Oh no. Silja my daughter? No, just, no. She's just under my custody. Though...If it was up to her, she would be mothering _me_.” 

Hannah smirked. “I've only known her for a day but this really sounds like her.” The two of them smiled.

Agnes got up. “I think with this out of the way, we should go back to bed. It's pretty late and you need rest. We'll talk about everything else, tomorrow.” She squeezed Hannah's hand. “Goodnight dear.”

* * *

When Hannah walked to the dining table the next morning, Silja and Agnes were seated at their chairs and talking. 

“Doris called. She said she'll be back next week.” Agnes said. 

“Good, it's a nightmare being alone with you. ” Silja said and Hannah saw Agnes kicking her foot under the table. “Ouch! You're grounded, Agnes!”

“You can't ground me. ” Agnes said nonchalantly. She turned when she finally saw Hannah, who was staring at them with wide eyes. “Oh, good morning dear.”

“Good morning.”She answered and sat down. There was a feast prepared for breakfast, the exact opposite of their house. Bread rolls, toasts, butter, cheese marmalade, honey, smoked ham, salami, boiled eggs, and pancakes. there was also a pot of freshly prepared coffee and a glass filled with orange juice.

Hannah felt her mouth water and the heavenly smell. Her expression must have shown how amazed she was because Agnes chuckled and told her to eat up. “You need to regain your energy. you need all the food and rest you can get if you want to get better.” She frowned at Hannah's scars. “If I find who did this to you...” She grumbled. Hannah felt a little uncomfortable. When was the last time she received this kind of motherly attention? Would Agnes treat her the same, if she knew the reason Hannah received her injuries? ' _I really doubt it._ '

“Focus, Agnes. ” Silja chuckled. “You can plot murder later. We need to deal with other stuff, now.”

Agnes nodded. “Right. Hannah, those bruises will take 2 weeks or so to heal. I believe it's best if you stay in the house till then, don't you think?” Hannah nodded. There was no way that she would be caught by anyone looking like this.

“You can rest in the guest room. Of course, we will redecorate it to your taste. Silja will buy some clothes for you. Once you get better we will go shopping so you can choose your own clothes.” 

Hannah hoped that her mouth wasn't agape. She couldn't honestly believe the treatment she was getting. it took all her power not to burst into tears. “Thank you... Thank you so much.” 

“Well you didn't think that we'd just let you walk around in oversized clothes; now, did you?” Silja said. “Now the elephant in the room.” She looked at Agnes.

Agnes coughed into her fist. “Right. Hannah, I don't think you would want to stay in the house forever now, would you?”

Hannah honestly didn't know what to say. She didn't know how long it would take her to be able to walk in the streets without getting attention. her best bet for going home(If it was even possible), was the caves. but what then? She didn't know how long it would take her to find her way back and Agnes was right. If going home took longer than she hoped, or it never happened it meant that she would have to live with the Taubers. And then what? she'd have to get out of the house eventually.

“But if I go out, the people... I'm basically a stranger.” She said. Did anyone remember her? She doubted it. What did her being in the future mean? did she suddenly disappear only to reappear 33 years later? ' _Would anyone even believe me if I tell them who I am? Would papa? Where is he?_ ' 

“We thought about that. ” Silja said. “We could just tell everybody you are a relative that will be living with us from now.” 

That...That wouldn't work. “But you don't have any of my legal documents.”

“Awww!” Silja cooed. “It's cute how you think this stuff can't be taken care of easily with some money or connections.”

“Silja!” Agnes scolded when she saw Hannah's expression. 

“What?” Silja rolled her eyes. “It's either that or taking her to the police-” Hannah shook her head wildly. “and going through all the paperwork or this.”

Agnes sighed and turned to Hannah. “Well, yes. We have... our ways. you don't need to worry. Now eat up. you too, Silja. You need to go to school.”

Hannah began filling her own plate but her mind was going a million other directions. ' _What does have our ways even mean? God papa! Did you sell our house to the mob?_ '

***

' _Come on, It's just a phone call._ ' And yet, it seemed like the hardest task in the world. 

He couldn't remember if he walked, ran, or floated back home; the revelations and the information he'd gotten, swimming in his head.

The girl, the woman, both having the same name. The hairpin that she had given him... _'She gave me one hairpin and wanted me to find it today. she said that today, someone will need my help. she said that it would be her... then another girl shows up. Hazel eyes and dark hair with the same pin and she claims to be from... 33 years ago would be 1986, right? It can't be. this isn't a sci-fi movie. One of them had to be lying. but why would they? what would they gain from this trick.'_

But it _had_ to be a trick; because, if it wasn't then the answer would be...

“That's just stupid.” He whispered. “Absolutely crazy.”

So, why did it make so much sense? 

well if by some sort of insanity, time travel was possible, and future Hannah had come to him to warn him that past her was coming(Even the mere thought sounded crazy.); there had to be some rule to it.

Magic might have been his passion, but it wasn't the only thing he was interested in. Mikkel loved space. learning about the stars and the planets led to reading about other stuff like wormholes and the like and that led to time travel. Mikkel had seen time travel movies and learning about the scientific parts of it was also very interesting. 

So... say if hypothetically possible, what did time-traveling into the future even mean. most media always featured time traveling to the past because it was easier to create rules and stories about that concept. Paradoxes, alternate timelines, and everything else. But the future? That meant you had to assume that the future already existed. Or maybe... well if you were close to the speed of light, time would change. it might seem normal to the faster person but the world would move at a faster pace. a few seconds for that person could be years for the world around them.

was that what had happened? and what did that mean for the hypothetical time traveler? If they were to move forward in time, they would be invisible to the world around them.

So it meant that Hannah simply disappeared in 1986. (Hypothetically, of course.)

That wasn't a very hard thing to confirm. All he had to do was convince himself to make a call.

“I mean. it's totally insane.” He said aloud. “How do you even go with that conversation? Mama told me to avoid mentioning that.” 

But he was too curious for his own good.

After some mental back and forth, he decided to call his grandparents' house.

“Hello?” His grandpa answered the phone. 

“Grandpa? It's me, Mikkel.” Mikkel answered.

“Mikkel? How are you? Did something happen? How is your mother? Ulrich?” 

“They are fine, grandpa.” He said. “I wanted to talk to you.”

“What is it?” He sounded worried.

“I wanted to ask you something. ” Mikkel said. “33 years ago... was there anyone else who went missing, I mean...besides uncle Mads?” 

There was a long silence. Did he upset grandpa? He knew that he and grandma Jana were really heartbroken about his uncle. He opened his mouth to apologize when grandpa answered. “There were... there were more... a friend of your parents... a girl and...”

“A girl?” Mikkel asked, heart pounding. “What was her name?”

“Hannah I think.” He paused. “Mikkel, Why do you want to know? Did they find something? Did you overhear your parents talking-” he could hear another voice over the line. Grandma Jana. “Mikkel, I need to hang up. We'll talk later, okay?”

He gave a low hum and hung up.

Mikkel's parents raised him to have no faith in God, but it felt like some cosmic entity was playing a trick on him.


	7. But when I get to the doorway There's no one in sight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jonas is a good friend (Son). Regina is there along for the ride.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning: implied suicidal thoughts and self harm.

“Jonas, what's the hurry for?” Regina asked as Jonas rushed out of Tannhaus's shop. “You bumped to that poor-” 

“Regina.” He cut her off. “I need to go to Hannah's. I don't know if I can give you a ride back home.” 

Regina frowned. “Krüger? Why? Jonas, you know what she did.” 

Jonas shook her head. “She wouldn't.” Regina gave him a patronizing look. Great! He could read her thoughts, easily. ' _Oh, Jonas, you sweet summer child._ ' He hated being considered an idiot; especially by his friends. 

“Don't look at me like that!” He snapped. “We don't know the full story, Regina. There is no proof she made the accusation. You know what Albers is like. She can blow things out of proportion and jump to conclusions. God knows what she might do to Hannah now.” He sat on his bike. “I'm really sorry. I know how you feel abo-”

“I'm coming too.” She said. Jonas raised a brow. Regina countered his questioning look with an amused chuckle. “Don't look at me like that, Kahnwald. If you're right and she has nothing to do with it, then I might have just thrown a girl between Albers's teeth for no reason, and if you're not; well, I need to talk to her myself.” She sat on the chair, behind him. “Now, what are you waiting for? Let's go.”

Jonas smiled. Although Regina never liked Hannah for associating with Katharina, she couldn't help but worry about everybody, as she didn't want anyone to suffer through what she had from Albers. “Hannah might have to worry about what you might do, more than Albers, Regina.”

Regina snorted. “And, don't you dare forget it, Kahnwald.”

He couldn't have gotten there faster; and, while he tried to pay attention to the road, his mind was somewhere else.

_'Could she have done it? Why would she? What could it have possibly accomplished? I know she likes Nielsen, but still. Then again, she does have a tendency to act without thinking when blinded by her feelings. But this doesn't explain why Albers went after Regina. What could she have told them? That she what? Followed Regina to Mr.Tiedemann's office? That's stupid! She couldn't have given them any actual proof. Albers and Nielsen just acted on assumptions._ '

But if she had. _If_ she had done it, then what? ' _God, Hannah! Would it have been worth it? Why would you do it? Would you really do all this, just to be Nielsen's second choice? Why would you do such a thing for a boy who... Should I be surprised? You always put your worth upon the way he and Albers see you. You always see yourself through other people's eyes. Of course, you would betray yourself like this._ ' Or maybe, this wasn't about Nielsen at all. Maybe it was about Albers. Hannah and Albers's friendship was... complicated to say the least. Jonas knew that Hannah was Albers's oldest friend and that they were close. Despite Hannah's obvious jealousy over her dating Nielsen and Albers's mood swings, they had managed to stay close. He had tried to talk to Hannah about how staying friends with the girl would only hurt her; but she had assured him that she was fine while spending time with Albers, that she was kind to her, that he didn't know the girl like Hannah did, and that being with the girl was beneficial for her. He should have known that things weren't rainbows and sunshine as she had tried to paint them as. 

' _Things were bound to break between you two, weren't they. It was all a matter of time. Take the death by a thousand cuts quietly then, blow up like a bomb._ '

“Jonas?” He heard Regina's voice from behind. 

“What is it, Regina?” He asked.

“What if it really _is_ her doing. What would you do then?” She asked.

Jonas didn't know how to answer that question. What _would_ he do? All this time on the assumption that Hannah didn't do any of this. How could he face her? What would he say? If it turned out to be her fault, how could he dissolve the conflict? Would he be able to? How could he face Regina afterward? Noticing that he hadn't answered Regina's question, he replied. “Does it matter? What Albers did to you is on her, not Hannah. If she did accuse Nielsen... Well, it's not my place to be angry at her. She's still my friend, Regina. I can't let them hurt her.” He could figure everything else later. ' _For now, protecting Hannah is the top priority._ '

Regina was silent for a while and Jonas realized that he might have sounded insensitive, implying that the trouble Regina went through because of the whole thing didn't matter to him. ' _No matter what I do, someone will get hurt. Peter is right. Everything is complicated. He would have been far better suited to solve this whole situation than me._ ' He was about to apologize for upsetting her when she finally broke the silence. “You are too good for your own good, Jonas. That might get you into trouble, later.” 

“Maybe.” He replied. There was an uncomfortable silence after that.

* * *

No one was answering the door. This did _not_ bode well. 

“Jonas, relax. Maybe she isn't home yet. ” Regina said gently. 

He shook his head. “She should be home by now. Even if her father didn't give her a lift.”

Why, _why_ didn't he follow Hannah? Maybe she never got to come home. Maybe they got to her first. ' _Should I go back and look around the area near the school? Or should I wait here?_ ' 

“The backdoor.” He blurted.

“What?” Regina raised an eyebrow.

“We can see if the backdoor is locked or not. ” Jonas replied and started running around the house, ignoring Regina's calls. 

“It's not locked.” He smiled as the door opened.

“Jonas!” Regina huffed. “This is trespassing!”

“Yeah, So?” He asked casually. Regina's mouth hung open. Jonas raised an eyebrow, challenging her to reply. After a few seconds, she closed her eyes and shook her head. “My mother will kill me.” Jonas smiled and the two of them entered the house. 

“Hannah!” He called. “Hannah are you home?” From the corner of his eyes, he could see Regina looking around the house.

“There is food on the table.” She said. “See? Maybe she forgot something and went to the market.”

“Maybe. ” He said, but he knew that it wasn't the case. Something was wrong. Very wrong. “Maybe, she is upstairs. Hannah!” but there was no reply.

His stress was rising with each passing second. Where was she? The lunch on the table meant that she _did_ get home. It was still warm, so it couldn't have been that long ago. Why did she leave? Where could she have gone? Maybe, Regina was right and Hannah was going to return, but the answer didn't satisfy him at all. There was something else. His stomach twisted into knots and he called Hannah, one last time, before looking at Regina. “She's not here.” 

“What are you going to do?” She asked. She looked more worried about how distressed he was than the reason Jonas was fidgeting in his place. 

“Keep looking.” He told her. “This can't be good, Regina. She would never leave the house like that. You don't have to sta-”

“I told you that I'm with you about this. I want to find her too. Besides,” She squeezed his hand. “I'm not leaving you alone like this.”

He looked at her gentle smile and felt the tiniest bit of nervousness ebb away. “Thank you, Regina.” 

They rode on his bike and searched the neighborhood, the market, some places where Nielsen and Albers hung out (knowing those places helped the avoid confrontations with the two); but to no avail.

“We should go to the police. ” Jonas said. Regina hummed in agreement. “I'll take you to the police station and go back to Hannah's house to see if her father is home yet.”

“We should look in the forest too. ” Regina murmured. Jonas stiffened. 'She's thinking about Mads.' He felt Regina's grip on his waist tighten. “Good idea. ” He said through gritted teeth. 

He rode his bike to the police station and watched Regina go inside.

'Please, God, let Regina be right. Let her be home by now.' He thought on repeat while riding toward Hannah's house. 

When he got there, Sebastian Krüger's van was parked outside of the house.

He got off the bike and rushed into the house, Where Mr.Krüger was standing in the living room; looking around the house, clearly looking for his daughter. He turned around after hearing Jonas's footsteps. “Jonas? ”Clearly, Jonas was the last person he expected. “What are you doing here?”

“Is Hannah here?” He asked, hurriedly. He craned his neck and looked over the older man's shoulder. “Mr.Krüger, is Hannah with you?” 

The man was obviously shocked by Jonas's tone. “She isn't home.”

His mouth clamped shut at the man's words. Just a few minutes ago, he was ready to talk to the man, but now, he was speechless. How was he supposed to tell a father that he thought that his daughter was probably hurt?

“Mr.Krüger, We came to your house, before. The door was open, but Hannah wasn't here. We looked around at the places where she hangs around, but she isn't anywhere.”

“Maybe...Maybe she's hanging out with a friend. Katharina or Ulrich.” Mr.Krüger was clearly trying to keep his calm. 

Jonas swallowed and looked down. ' _That is the problem!_ ' There was a lump in his throat. After a few seconds of internal struggle, he brought his eyes to meet Sebastian's. “Sir, That's the problem. They think... They think that Hannah was the one who testified as a witness against Nielsen about the rape. They might hurt Hannah.” Mr.Krüger paled. He put his hand on a chair as if to keep balance. “We-Regina and I- thought that it would be better to inform the police. They should be here, soon” Hannah's father nodded, mechanically. It seemed like trying his best not to collapse. “Good.” He nodded again. “You did the right thing. You should go home, Jonas. I drove your mother home. She might get worried.”

He felt a shiver running down his spine. Ines! He totally forgot about her. She was probably having a heart attack right now. He nodded. “Please, call our house, if anything happens.” He gets a simple nod as a response and rushed outside of the house.

' _Let's hope Ines doesn't ground me for this_ ' 

It was the least of his worries, really.

* * *

“Where were you?” Was the first thing he heard when he stepped through the door. 

“I was- ” He was cut off once tightly wrapped in Ines' s arms. He stiffened, after a few seconds, he hugged her back. 

“I was worried.” She whispered. 

“I'm fine. ” He stepped back. “I'm sorry for worrying you.”

She took a few deep breaths. A smile was plastered on her face. “It's fine. Just, leave a note, next time.”

“You're early.” He said. Her smiled faltered ever so slightly. 

“I thought we could spend some time together.”

Jonas's frowned at her tone. It was too saccharine. The kind of tone she would use while speaking to a young patient. The kind she used when she was nervous and didn't want him to know. 

“Okay.” He said.

“Go, get changed and wash your hands. Lunch is ready.” She said and picked up a few plates. 

“Mama, I think something happened to Hannah.” He said. He had to crouch down and pick the plates that she had dropped before they hit the ground. “Whoa! Is everything okay?”

She blinked. “Fine, I'm fine. Sit down and tell me what happened.”

He raised an eyebrow at the shift in her mood and sighed. 

' _This is going to be the longest day of my life, isn't it?_ '

***

There was a sick pleasure in her heart after seeing the way Katharina's face twisted in shock and then, in realization. 

She didn't know when she had finally snapped, though there were a few contributing factors that came to mind. She didn't even know when it started. 

Was it when she didn't have any friends? Well that wasn't true, at least, not anymore; but back then it felt like it. The loneliness felt suffocating and she wondered if it would ever stop. 

Was it when her relationship with her mother started to become bitter? She didn't know when that had started. Maybe there was no starting point to that part of her life. Claudia Tiedemann was always a busy woman. Being the most hardworking woman in the power plant meant that she would have very little time to spend with her daughter. Not being around Regina much wouldn't have been a big problem had the times that she was around been good and happy times; but Claudia Tiedemann wasn't just the most hardworking. She was also, the most ambitious one. Always striving for more. She was a woman who always tried to get what she wanted and her expectations of herself only grew.

So did her expectations of her daughter. Ones that she couldn't deliver. God, did she try, but it seemed that nothing that she did was ever enough. 

Her mother was emotionally distant at best, and at worse, constantly berating her for her smallest mistake. There was always something that her perfectionist mother could nitpick about her. Be it her grades, her performance in fencing class, her appearance, or her general behavior. 

Maybe the first cracks started to appear on her 14th birthday when she was lying awake at night and suddenly burst into tears once she realized that she couldn't remember the last time that her mother had told her that she loved her. 

Or maybe, it was Katharina and Ulrich. Their names alone could cause her blood to freeze and her heartbeat to speed up. 

What could she have possibly done to them that warranted such behavior was beyond her. She laid awake countless nights, thinking about any reason that might have caused Katharina Albers to hate her. At some point she had realized that there was no reason, needed. That bullies like Katharina, didn't need any reason more than her mere existence to hurt her. The realization didn't help her at all, as it meant that there was nothing she could do to stop it. 

Being Katharina's favorite target made school, a living hell, all it took was being seen by her and being jeered at was a guarantee. That was if the girl was in a good mood. For some only-to-god-known reason, Katharina was popular, despite her attitude. Being Ulrich's girlfriend helped the matter, immensely and being hated by those two meant that Regina was hated by most of the school. Sometimes, it was bring tripped in the hallway. Sometimes it was her books or some other property being snatched out of her hands. Sometimes it was a damaged locker or harsh words on her desks, even harsher words to her ear. 

Regina started to carry her bag around, wherever she went after finding it filled with garbage once. 

Maybe, it was when she started to believe all those words and insults. Times when she looked at the mirror and couldn't find a single beautiful thing about her face or body. Voices in her head kept on telling her that it wouldn't matter if she took off her glasses, or combed her hair, or wore pretty clothes. It wouldn't matter because she would always stay freaky, four-eyed Tiedemann. 

Maybe it was when the voices got too loud and the whispers would tell her that she had no reason to live. Regina wanted anything that would stop the thoughts and found the worst kind of solution. 

She didn't remember what exactly was the thoughts running through her mind. Only that the thoughts had momentarily stopped and her feelings were not a whirlwind of pain once physical pain took over. And then, she did it again and again. 

Maybe it was the good things in her life like Jonas, Mads and Peter. They were the only people that she felt truly safe around. They always defended her from bullies. Even though it put them in a vulnerable position at the school. Jonas, especially, could become really popular with how handsome he was but chose to be a pariah, alongside her. 

It felt like the world had crashed around her when Jonas saw her scars. She had never seen him so shocked before. She had burst into tears. Sobbing, and begging him not to tell her mother. He had brought her to his home and tended to her wounds. (Being the son of a nurse had its advantages). They made a deal. He wouldn't tell her mother, if she promised him to never harm herself again. 

The next time she saw him, he proceeded to add a few things to their deal. He told her to call him whenever she felt like hurting herself again. It didn't matter if it was the middle of the night. If by some rare occurrence, he wasn't available. She was to do anything to distract herself. Hold an ice cube until it melted in her hands, Punch a pillow, listen to some music, draw on her arms, or put a rubber band on her wrists and snap it until the urge subdued. He even gave her a rubber band that was in her favorite color. That was when she started crying. He held her until her tears dried.

Maybe, it was knowing that despite having the best friends in the world, nothing good, ever lasted. It was the knowledge that the world was truly unfair. Why else would Mads have gone missing? Why Mads who never said a bad word to anyone. Mads, who had made her question how in the world, could two brothers be so different. Why not his brother? Why not Ulrich, or Katharina? Regina would have gladly traded both of them for Mads. 

Maybe, it was the first truly good thing that had happened to her since Mads' s disappearance. Meeting Alekander. He promised her that neither Ulrich, nor Katharina would ever hurt her ever again, and for the first time, she felt like this was an actual possibility. He also had pointed something to her. That she was capable of defending herself and that she wasn't alone. 

It could have been none of the things above or even a combination of all of them. But that day after school, when she had realized that Katharina thought her to be as rotten as her and Ulrich, Regina's patience finally shattered. But she wasn't going to be defeated. No. If Katharina wanted to break her, then she should have been weary of her sharp pieces. Regina had every intention to cut Katharina. 

She didn't know that she had cut more than her hated bully. 

* * *

The look on Jonas's face was enough to make her regret opening her mouth. 

When she had been accused of giving false testimony to her grandfather the first time, it didn't settle in first. She was too engrossed in fear and then, in pain from being kneed in the gut to notice what she had been accused off. Then all thoughts of the reason fir being attacked flew out of her mind once Aleksandr showed up.

The second time however, she was fully aware of the situation. With a new sort of confidence, she had pointed put the flaws in Katharina's gibberish. 

It was once she saw Jonas's face that she had realized her mistake. 

To ne honest, she was slightly miffed by Jonas's blind defense of Hannah, but he couldn't _really_ blame him. Even she could understand that Hannah suggesting that maybe, Regina was behind it all didn't necessarily mean that the girl, herself was the culprit. Katharina was the one who took it so far. She wouldn't put rape, beyond Ulrich's capabilities either. Hecwas rotten like that. He seemingly got a thrill out of doing the wrong thing. It was as if he wanted everybody to know that he didn't care if he was doing the wrong thing; if anything he wanted to get caught. Why else would he have worn a jacket with the same words as the graffiti that he had painted on the ground and the walls? 

That didn't mean that she could see what Jonas saw in the girl. In Regina's opinion, Hannah was a coward who hung around the people she didn't even like and went with everything they said because she was desperate for a bit of fame and attention. There wad nothing too eye catching about her. Especially, next to ger companions. 

But Jonas cared about her anyway. Some people thought that it was because he had romantic feelings for the girl but Regina knew better. There was something else. A deep bond that could not be described, really.

Or maybe, Regina was seeing things in black and white because she used to have feelings for the boy herself. Maybe she had Underestimated Hannah. If her theory was true, then the girl was far sneakier than she had thought. It was almost poetic in a dark comedic way. The least bright star was Indeed a Snake, waiting fir the Right moment to strike.

She couldn't even dream about telling anyone, but had it not gotten her involved, she wouldn't gave minded Ulrich getting into trouble, at all. 

It would have made her felt a tiniest bit better about what happened to Mads.

She wondered if she would ever stop blaming Ulrich and Katharina fir loosing so many things in her life. 

With that thought in mind, she entered her grandfather's office. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Was the way Jonas handled Regina's situation right? I will leave it for you to decide. Just remember that he is a teenage boy himself and is not the best person to deal with these kind of problems. Now I believe that Claudia loves her daughter to bits and she would have realized how she had messed up with Regina had she known about her problem but Jonas mostly knows Claudia through Regina's lenses and the picture it paints is not something pretty. He thought that it would only make things worse. He also thought that Regina might do something drastic once her mother figured it out. So he tries to help as much as he can.


	8. I will be looking for proof in the soil

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which time travel is discussed. Later an alliance is formed.

“Mikkel, are you are you okay?” Mama's voice brought him back to reality. Mikkel blinked. Mama was giving him a worried look.

“What? I'm fine. Why are you asking.” He said, trying to hide how lost he felt.

Mama raised an eyebrow. “You haven't touched your food; That's why.” Mikkel looked at his plate. The amount of food had not changed that much as he had spent his time playing with it instead; too deep in thought. “Normally you eat like an ogre.” Mikkel made a noise of protest, to which she laughed. “You know it's true!”

“I'm not really hungry.” He responded

Martha laughed at that. “ _You_ aren't hungry?”

“Is it the end of the world, or something?” Magnus smirked.

Mikkel threw a napkin at him. “Like you're the one to talk!” 

Mama frowned. “Mikkel, not at the table.” She chided. “Now, tell me what's wrong. I know there's something; you've been acting weird these last days. ”

Mikkel pursed his lips. Was he that obvious? His mind was drifting in another world and he had not been thinking about acting just like usual, But could he be blamed? After the revelations that he had found today, he could barely think of anything other than the women that had saved his life and the girl he had met at Silja's house. The fact that they were possibly the same person. ' _Not to mention that time travel is possible!_ '

He wasn't really that surprised. his mother could read him like a book, and while he would have normally appreciated that she was worried about him; at that particular moment, he wished that he could have been better at hiding things from her. Mostly because he didn't know how to respond to her. 

“Just thinking.” He said, picking up the fork and taking a bite out of the food just to appease his mother. 

“About what?” Martha asked. “I've noticed it too. You've been acting weird since you came back from Silja's house. ” 

And just like his mother, Martha was also an observant individual. It was easy to forget that she too, cared a great deal about him. While that too, was appreciated, he didn't want her to go around and ask Silja what had happened. He needed a way to ease the tension.

“Time travel.” He shrugged. Magnus snorted into his drink. Martha's eyebrows went up and then she started shaking her head.

“Time travel?” Mama asked, clearly interested. “Why would you be thinking about that of all things?”

“Probably watched way too many movies. ” Magnus muttered under his breath. Mikkel rolled his eyes at him and brought his attention back to his mother.

“Just thinking, if someone told you they were a time traveler, would you believe them?” 

“Well, they have to have some sort of proof, right?” mama said. “something that only a time traveler would have or know.”

' _Well, mama, this time traveler does have proof. Only it seems that neither of us, know what to do with each other._ '

“But if you were to travel accidentally, What would you do?” He asked.

“Well, I would try to go back. ” Martha said. “Could you imagine suddenly being in a different time? it's like being in a different world altogether. Movies always make it sound so easy but it's never as simple as going around and just settling in a different place that doesn't know you.”

That made him think deeply. He had been absolutely spooked by the whole thing. Seeing a woman, only to see her younger self, who also had seen _him_? It was far less exciting and more confusing than any movie had depicted. In movies, heroes are mostly meant to travel. They would go back in time to change something in their lives and did it confidently so. In those other stories in which the time travel was accidental, they would son hold themselves together and figure out the reason they were in a different time. But the girl, ' _Hannah. She has a name._ ' seemed anything but confident or even remotely aware of the reason she was there. If they were to go linearly, this was the first time she had experienced the phenomenon, and she seemed lost and tired. ' _If I'm scared of the whole thing, how is she feeling? She's probably scared out of her mind, thinking that she was crazy. How would I deal with something like that happening to me?_ '

“I probably scared her even more.” He mumbled; feeling slightly guilty. 

“What was that?” Mama asked and Mikkel realized that he had spoken his thought, aloud.

“Nothing. Just if you could time travel, Where would- When would you guys go?” He asked.

“The future. ” Magnus replied immediately. “I would like to see how everything changes.”

“I'm not sure. ” Mama shrugged. “On one hand, I like Magnus's suggestion, on the other, I would like to go to the past. Maybe tell myself to exercise more, the baby fat from you alone is making me regret a lot of my decisions.”

They all laughed. “I think I'm good at the time I'm in. But I would like to see other presents. like other worlds. It's interesting to see how another me is doing right now. maybe I would look totally different with another haircut.” Mom laughed at that. “Why were you thinking about the whole time travel thing?”

“Silja was watching a movie.” He said. “Where is papa by the way?” 

It seemed that his attempt at changing the topic had worked as they all turned to look at his father's empty chair. 

“He's at work. They are really busy these days.” Mama answered.

“No news from Erik?” He asked. ' _Could it be? Or am I just crazy? It can't be a coincidence, right?_ ' His question brought the tension back to the table. Mama took a deep breath. Her face became weary, which in turn made her look a lot older. 

“No news; but they are still looking. we might have to take measures to boost security, and I want all three of you to look out for each other. ”

The three of them shared a look. Mikkel's mind went to the cave and he was sure that his siblings were also thinking of that too. It was one of those times that the three of them could think like a unit. 

Martha reached out from her seat and took Mama's hand. “We promise.” She looked at Magnus. He also took her hand. “We'll be careful.” He said.

“I'm sure Erik will be found too. ” Mikkel said as he put his hand on top. “Everything will be alright, mama. You don't have to worry.”

Mama smiled, which made her the most beautiful woman in the world in Mikkel's opinion. “How can I worry? I have you three on my corner.”

* * *

He wasn't surprised when Silja came to talk to him in the courtyard after school ended, if anything, he had been anticipating it. 

“We need to talk.” She said after tugging his sleeve. 

“This doesn't bode well. ” Hr chuckled nervously. “It's about her, isn't it? Don't worry. I haven't said a word about her to anyone.” 

Silja smiled. “I knew you wouldn't.” She ruffled his hair, much to his annoyance. “But we still need to talk. our stories need to match.”

Mikkel raised an eyebrow. “I _knew_ you were a criminal.” Silja rolled her eyes and snorted. “Is she-is Hannah okay? She was a little- Who am I kidding? a lot distressed. I think I may have made things worse. ”

“She's still a little bit down, but that's expected of anyone with her condition. Trust me you didn't make things worse. If anything, you made it better. She actually walked out of her room and made one small talk with Agnes. I would say that it's progress. ”

Mikkel breathed a sigh of relief. ' _I doubt it's as dandy as Silja thinks, but at least it doesn't seem that her existential crisis has driven her mad. So that's a win?_ '

“So. I talked to Agnes and her, and it's been decided that we are keeping her.” Silja said. He gasped.

“What is she, a stray cat?” He shook his head. “You were supposed to be the sensible one.”

“When did I give you that impression?” She smirked, but then, her face became serious. “Look, I know that what we are doing is wrong, honestly we could have given her to the authorities and asked to be her guardian later, but that seems like a waste of time and paper, and you know your sister will kill me if I cause any more trees to be cut-” They shared a laugh. “So, we just decided to skip those steps altogether. Besides her face bleaches at the mention of authorities.”

Mikkel could understand why, if Hannah really was a time traveler going to the police seemed like the worst decision ever. ' _They might think she's crazy. I might have thought she was crazy if not for the literal evidence in front of my eyes and coming out of my grandpa's mouth._ ' 

“You know, you'll get in trouble right?” She nodded. “You don't care, do you? You genuinely want to help. She'll have to come to school, you know that, right?”

“I know.” She sighed. “We haven't spoken to her about it, but I assumed she was already aware of the fact. But We both thought that we should bring it up later. Right now, she's not in a condition to go outside, let alone think about school. ”

Mikkel nodded, remembering Hannah's beaten up face. ' _I wonder how she got like this. She said that it was two bullies from school. Was that the truth, or was it a cover-up?_ '

“Won't she need documentations for school and everything else?” He said. Mikkel wasn't that informed about the legal stuff, but he knew some paperwork was needed for someone to be recognized in the town. ' _Now that I think about it, She is a total stranger in this town, if my theories are true, that means that she's been missing for 33 years. She's probably considered dead right now._ ' His stomach twisted into knots thinking about Erik, uncle Mads and what all of this would mean for her. ' _She has no Identity No one here will look for her. this might be easier than I thought._ '

“Funny, she asked the same thing. But, neither of you need to worry about this. Agnes will handle it.”

“Is that what you told her too? Because that's not ominous _at all_.” Silja laughed. She sure was having way too much fun with this situation. “Fine.” He sighed. “I promise you that I won't tell anyone, but you _owe_ me.”

“Great!” She pumped a fist in the air. “We are going to tell everyone that she's a relative. Remember that. Okay? ” He nodded. Suddenly the something sparked in his mind.

“There is something.” He said. Silja gave him a questioning look. “Can I talk to her?” Silja's eyes widened slightly before smiling. “That would be her choice, not mine. But, if she doesn't mind, I don't see why not?” 

“Oh, that won't be a problem. I have a feeling that she wants to see me again, too. ”

* * *

“Just a warning, she might be a little grouchy, now that Agnes isn't here. ” Silja said as walked up the stairs.

“I figured.” He said. ' _Wouldn't blame her either._ ' 

After lunch, he had gone to Silja's house, telling his family that she was going to help him in physics (A stupid thing now that he thought about it as it was his best subject); thankfully, they allowed it. 

“I promise I won't upset her.” He told Silja.

“I know you wouldn't do it on purpose.” She said as she ruffled his hair. What was with Silja and his hair today? “Just, be careful not to say anything too insensitive on accident. Boys are immature like that.”

“Hey!” He said, offended. 

“Just kidding!” She laughed before walking away. 

Mikkel sighed before continuing to walk upstairs; suddenly a little bit nervous. What if Silja was right and he did say the wrong thing? How did one talk to a distressed, potential time traveler? ' _There's got to be some sort of guide out there._ '

He stopped at the door; stopping himself from opening it. It wouldn't be right to just barge into the room, right? That would be rude. So, he knocked.

“Come in.” Her voice came after a few seconds. 

' _Here goes nothing._ ' He opened the door. Hannah was laying down on the bed. She clearly was not expecting him, as her eye widened comically and she sat up quickly. 

“Ugh,” This was harder than he initially expected it to be. “Hi?” He wanted to kick himself. ' _Smooth, Mikkel, real smooth._ ' 

“Hi,” She started skeptically. “I wasn't expecting you here.”

' _Me neither really, funny how things work._ ' He took a deep breath. “We need to talk.” 

She nodded and scooted over to allow him to sit down. He sat in front of her, opening and closing his mouth, not sure how to begin. 

“Look,” Hannah began after a few seconds. “About what I said back then... I wasn't in the right mind and I-”

Oh, they were _not_ doing that now. “I believe you!” He interrupted. The girl's mouth hung wide open. “It's absolutely insane but I believe you.”

“You...” She looked like she was going to cry. “Why?”

He sighed. “It's complicated. I mean, two days ago, in the morning, I meet a lady who gives me a little box and tells me to open it the next day, yesterday, and that someone is going to need my help. When I ask her who she was talking about she says that she means herself, which doesn't make sense at all, but okay. the next day I realize that she gave me a hairpin, which apparently belongs to a girl who looks suspiciously like a younger version of the woman I met and even shares the same name. it could be a coincidence, it should be a coincidence. That's the only thing that makes sense especially since you told me that you also met me at the same time but in 1986 of all years and you want me to believe that you are a time traveler. It should be impossible or at least, some sort of trick but then I get the final piece of evidence.”

“Which is?” She asked. He had been watching her expression change with each word at an impressive speed trying to match his narrative with hers, but there was a certain relief in her face that was simply constant. 

“That there is a girl with your name that had gone missing 33 years ago.” He said. Hannah gasped, her grip on the blanket threatening to tear it to half. “That could also have an explanation. Maybe you just heard the name in passing conversations or read it in an old newspaper. Very unlikely, but better than time travel. But that wouldn't explain how we met. How could you or anyone else know that I would have come here yesterday? As stupid as it is, time travel seems to be more likely that all of these coincidences lining up like this. So, do our stories match?”

She nodded. “They do. It all makes sense, but I still don't know what we are supposed to do? Why am I even here? How is any of this even possible? How are you supposed to tell me?”

“No idea.” He shrugged. “Your older self, that felt weird to say,” And by the way Hannah shivered, it was clear that she was uncomfortable with the whole thing as well. “didn't say anything. Just that I'm supposed to help you. I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact that you're a time traveler. I'm half expecting her to barge into the room and say: this was all a trick! Do you have any idea?”

“I wouldn't be here if I knew what I was supposed to do.” she quipped, but then, sighed. “I just... I need to go home. Well, this is my home. But I need to go back to 1986.”

“Kind of difficult to go to a time that has already passed.” He wanted to kick himself after seeing her fallen expression. 'Not what she needs to hear smartass!' A Martha like voice said in his head. He could also imagine her shaking her head disapprovingly Magnus snickering along. “But then again,” He started with forced cheerfulness. “If it's possible to just go to the future, you might be able to go back to the past. How did you come here, anyway? You said that Hannah, the other Hannah took you to the caves. Then what?”

“That's what's confusing me. I don't remember. My mind draws a blank each time I think about what happened next.” She said.

' _Well, this is inconvenient._ ' He frowned. “Well, starting at the caves might be a good idea. Maybe that's what I'm supposed to do. Help you get back.”

She glanced at him from head to toe as if trying to determine how _he_ was supposed to help _her_. It might have made him feel a little defensive. He crossed his arms and met her eyes and stared right back at them, silently challenging her to disagree.

“Maybe.” She said after a few seconds. “Nothing would surprise me anymore.”

“You're telling me.” He snorted. The two of them shared a smile.

“Still don't know why I'm here in the first place.” She huffed.

“Who knows? If we go through time travel movie logic, it could be anything.” He said.

“Time travel movie logic?” She raised an eyebrow. “How many are there? I only remember Terminator and Back to the future.”

He stared at her. She really was from the past. The 80's. The time where movie quality was abysmal. The ancient mythical time before cellphones and the internet. “Yeah...” He chuckled nervously. “More than one can count. The world, well it changed a lot since the '80s.”

She gulped. “How is this my life?” She shook her head at her own rhetorical question. “No, don't answer me. Just... Thank you for believing me.”

“I wish I couldn't believe you.” He said, honestly. “I wish the evidence weren't staring at my face. Everything just became complicated. But... I will help you in any way I can. I owe it to you in a way.”

She gave a humorless chuckle. “You have no idea, but what do you mean you owe it to me?”

He opened his mouth to answer, but a shrill voice from downstairs made both of them jump. 

“Hey! anyone wants snacks?”

**Author's Note:**

> This chapter ended up focusing way more on Hannah than Mikkel. Don't worry, our favorite magician will get his turn.  
> If you're wondering why the dates are screwed up. Well...  
> 1.why the hell does the winden school start at November in the first place? Someone needed to change things.  
> 2\. The past affects the future and the future affects the past. For this reason, everything had been shuffled around.  
> Buckle up everybody. This is going to be a ride.


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